Queens Man Accused Of Aiming Assault Rifle At NYPD Detective

MIDDLE VILLAGE, QUEENS — A suspected drug dealer was arrested after his own security cameras recorded him aiming an assault rifle at a NYPD detective surveilling his home, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The detective was in an unmarked car outside Julin Liriano's Middle Village home the evening of Oct. 7 when he saw Liriano load the rifle and point it at him as he drove by, according to prosecutors.

The detective got out of the car and ordered Liriano to drop the gun. Instead, Liriano ran inside.

Eventually he exited the home, and police took him into custody.

Investigators with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's New York task force, which had tasked the detective with monitoring the home, searched the Elliot Avenue home and seized 85 grams of cocaine, three pounds of marijuana, a scale, ammunition, a bulletproof vest and three loaded guns, according to New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan's office.

Security footage showed that, after Liriano fled into his home following the confrontation with the NYPD detective, he loaded several backpacks into a car parked in his garage.

Investigators later discovered a hidden compartment under the backpacks, which held a semi-automatic pistol, an EVO 9mm carbine assault rifle and a MAC-11 submachine gun with a suppressor, according to prosecutors.

At the time of Liriano's arrest, he was already facing criminal charges after being accused of threatening to shoot a man and his 5-year-old daughter, then stealing their pet bulldog.

The bulldog was by Liriano's side the night of his arrest, as he brandished the assault rifle and aimed it at the detective, prosecutors said.

Liriano faces criminal charges of weapon and drug possession in connection with the confrontation. He is being held without bail.