Thursday, October 1, 2026
Thomas Mascia, 27, a West Hempstead resident, returned to court today to face charges resulting from the former state trooper shooting himself in the leg while on patrol.
Mascia, who was expected to accept a plea deal from the District Attorney's office, instead claimed he was not in good mental health and incorrectly signed a document required for him to enter a plea agreement.
Mascia’s guilty plea would have resulted in six month in jail, five years probation, required mental health treatment, and a restitution payment of $289,511.32. This also included a full order of protection issued against Mascia from an unnamed individual.
The plea deal fell through when Judge Robert Bogle asked Mascia if he was in good mental health and he responded "no." After a brief discussion with his lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, Mascia changed his answer and explained he was "currently recieving treatment" for his mental health.
Mascia also incorrectly signed a document that is required to enter a plea agreement. The document must be signed by all parties, including the judge, the prosecution, the defense, and the defendant. Instead of signing his name, Thomas Mascia, he instead signed the document as "Trooper Mascia."
While the judge explained he understands court can cause anxiety for many and that Mascia may have accidently signed the document with a former signature, Bogle stated he was not "comfortable" continuing the deposition and adjourned the case.
A representative from District Attorney Anne Donnelly's office said, "we plan to move forward with our prosecution on the next court date."
Mascia and his parents are expected to return to court on May 21 at 10 a.m.
Mascia’s parents, Thomas and Dorothy, were charged with criminal possession of a firearm, which was discovered during a state investigation into their property to recover the younger Mascia’s weapons, along with any other guns. During this search nearly $800,000 in cash was seized from Mascia’s home and linked to his parents.
Mascia Sr. is a former NYPD officer who pleaded guilty on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1993. As a convicted felon, Mascia Sr. is not allowed to possess a firearm.
They pleaded not guilty.
All three appeared in court today wearing green accessories, Mascia, a ribbon on his lapel, his mother a shawl, and his father a tie. A green ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol for mental health awareness.
The investigation concluded the younger Mascia shot himself with a personal gun, which was discovered by state police in the search and matched to the bullet casings discovered at the crime scene.
Mascia set off a multi-state manhut after reporting he had been shot in the leg while patrolling near Exit 17 of the Southern State Parkway on Oct. 30. Mascia claims that around 11:45 p.m. he had stopped to help a person he thought to be in distress before being shot.
State police described the alleged shooter as a dark-skinned man driving a Dodge Charger with a temporary New Jersey license plate. A multi-state manhunt was conducted to find the alleged shooter, occupying multiple police resources.
On Nov. 1, Mascia left Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow in a wheelchair to the cheers of a few hundred fellow state troopers. A few days later he was suspended without pay a few days ago and his trooper ID, duty weapon and badge were taken from him.
After identifying several inconsistencies in Mascia’s story — and a lack of body camera footage — a state investigation concluded he had violated official policy and falsely reported the incident. Mascia was suspended without pay and his trooper ID, duty weapon and badge were taken from him.
“Our investigation determined that Mascia deliberately shot himself and he lied about it,” New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said at a January news conference.
On Jan. 24 Mascia resigned from the New York State Police. Three days later Mascia turned himself in to police and was charged with tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident and official misconduct.
This is a developing story.
