A Middle Village man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after he pointed a loaded assault rifle at an undercover NYPD detective — and was then found to be stashing a cache of weapons and drugs on his property (Photos: NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office (L) and Google Maps (R))
Dec. 6, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
A Middle Village man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for pointing a loaded assault rifle at an undercover NYPD detective– as well as stashing a cache of weapons and drugs on his property.
Julin Liriano, 36, was sentenced at Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday having pleaded guilty to weapons and drug charges for the Oct. 7, 2020 incident.
Liriano, according to the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office, was outside his 85-25 Elliot Ave. home at around 6:45 p.m. when he cocked his rifle and pointed it at an undercover NYPD detective who was conducting a drug surveillance operation with the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF). The detective was sitting in an unmarked vehicle.
Liriano, whose bulldog was alongside him at the time, was ordered to drop the weapon by law enforcement but he did not comply and instead fled into his home, prosecutors said.
Liriano was seen on his own security footage carrying a weapon (Photo: NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office)
An image of Liriano holding a weapon (Photo via the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office)
Members of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) arrived at Liriano’s home and he was subsequently taken into custody, prosecutors said.
The agents then conducted a court-authorized search of Liriano’s home and a car parked inside his garage. Authorities found a semi-automatic pistol, an EVO 9mm carbine assault rifle and a MAC-11 submachine gun with a suppressor. They also recovered around 85 grams of cocaine, three pounds of marijuana, a weighing scale, handcuffs, ammunition and a bulletproof vest.
At Liriano’s first court appearance in 2020, he denied being armed on the day of his arrest and his former attorney called the claims a police fabrication, according to the New York Post.
However, surveillance footage taken from Liriano’s home security camera system was presented to the court showing him holding the weapon and pointing it at the detective’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
The security footage, prosecutors said, also showed Liriano going back into his home and then carrying a number of backpacks out to the garage. He was seen on the video hiding the bags in an area of the car where the weapons were found, prosecutors said.
He later pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and menacing in the second degree. His eight-year sentence will be followed by five years of post-release supervision
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said the case shows the grave risks drug investigators face while trying to keep the public safe.
“The sentence imposed today serves as a grim reminder of the dangerous connection between narcotics and guns.”
Meanwhile, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz praised the various agencies for working together in prosecuting Liriano.
“Lethal narcotics and illegal weapons create a dangerous mix that places our communities at grave risk,” Katz said.
“I commend our law enforcement partners for ensuring that the streets of Queens County remain safe.”
The incident took place outside Liriano’s 85-25 Elliot Ave. home in November 2020. Liriano’s home is the one with the awning (Photo: Google Maps)
