A Rockaway Park man was arrested earlier this month after law enforcement executed a court-ordered search warrant at his Beach 123rd St. home and recovered a loaded firearm, a fake detective’s shield, several CO2 air pistols, and air rifles.
Jody Fiorentino, 59, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Jan. 9 on a 10-count complaint charging him with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, and other related crimes.
Police from the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach responded to a 911 call of shots fired at 7:47 a.m. on Jan. 5 at the rear of an apartment building located at 122-20 Ocean Promenade adjoining the Rockaway Boardwalk. Officers found two 9mm shell casings on the ground and retrieved surveillance video that showed Fiorentino at the rear of the building, raising his arm up showing a handgun, and proceeded to fire two rounds from a handgun. Police from the 100th Precinct described him as a career criminal and secured a search warrant for his home at 130 Beach 123rd St. in the afternoon, which they executed at around 5:15 p.m.
Fiorentino told detectives he fired the handgun outside his home next to the apartment building after making threats on social media. He then claimed the firearm was legal and registered to his wife, who purchased the weapon in Pennsylvania.
“This was no attempted murder, yeah I made threats on Facebook because I was mad,” Fiorentino said. “Yes, I discharged two rounds in the driveway up in the air and I screamed twenty-five times first,” according to the criminal complaint. He also said, “I will say it in front of you and the judge, there was no intent to harm anybody, the threats were bullsh*t.”
He also told investigators, “I am stupid. I went out and discharged a weapon in the air twice because I wanted to look like a man in front of my kid and not a pussy,” according to the criminal complaint. He then admitted, “I had a couple of drinks; I was drunk.”
Bail was set at $30,000 cash and $90,000 bond. Fiorentino was ordered to return to court on Feb. 9.
