A New York State trooper who claimed he was shot on a Long Island highway by a random gunman falsified his story, prosecutors have claimed.
Thomas Mascia, 27, sparked a multistate manhunt on October 30 after reporting that he had stopped in the median of the Southern State Parkway to assist a disabled vehicle and was shot by a dark-skinned male in a black sedan with a temporary New Jersey license plate, as per NBC News.
He even described the vehicle as having rear-tinted windows and custom made dual exhaust-tips, according to Newsday.
‘Shots fired, shots fired, I’m hit,’ the trooper radioed to his colleagues that night.
‘I’m bleeding pretty good in the leg. Got a tourniquet on.’
But Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly claimed on Monday that Mascia actually shot himself before he reported the shooting.
He then allegedly brought the gun he used to the home he shared with his parents and drove to the parkway to report that he was shot.
The incident prompted State Police Superintendent Steven James to address the media, noting that the report initially instilled a sense of urgency to track down the individual responsible for the attack on a state trooper.
Thomas Mascia, 27, claimed he was shot on a Long Island highway by a random gunman
In his account, Mascia mentioned pulling over in the median of the Southern State Parkway to aid a stranded vehicle, only to be unexpectedly shot by a dark-skinned male driving a black sedan displaying a temporary New Jersey license plate.
Investigators searched through New York, New Jersey and even Delaware for the vehicle.
But within a few hours, James said, ‘the story began to unravel.’
State police conducted extensive video canvassing to try to find the vehicle Mascia had described, but could not find any surveillance footage showing the Dodge Charger.
They also could not find any tire marks at the scene to indicate a quick getaway, and noted that Mascia never flagged down another driver for help, the New York Times reports.
Authorities also failed to find any footage of the shooting when they reviewed body-worn camera video, and noted they did find several .22-caliber shell casings on the ground.
Using GPS and license plate readers, however, investigators found that Mascia scattered the shells himself, then drove to a local park where he shot himself in the leg and applied a tourniquet.
They further discovered that the bullet that struck his leg appeared to have come from his own weapon.
‘The evidence uncovered and the absence of evidence told us everything we needed to know,’ Donnelly said.
Investigators searched through New York, New Jersey and even Delaware for the vehicle
‘Even though Mascia tried to hide his tracks, it didn’t take long for everyone to uncover that his harrowing story was nothing more than an elaborate work of fiction.
‘He knew the fear that it would create. But he did it anyway. Whether for sympathy, attention to ease a wounded ego, what he did is unconscionable.’
Prosecutors also noted in a criminal complaint that his actions caused state police to ‘temporarily shut down the Southern State Parkway in an effort to locate the nonexistent shooter, causing alarm and inconvenience to the public.’
Meanwhile, Mascia was brought to a local hospital to be treated for the gunshot wound to his right leg.
When he was released the next day, local police held a ceremony for him.
‘Law enforcement throughout Long Island celebrated that he was safe, and we vowed to find the dangerous individual who shot him,’ Donnelly said.
‘But we never would. Because the shooter that we were all looking for existed in Mascia’s head, in his imagination.’
When Mascia was released from a local hospital the following day, local police held a ceremony for him
Mascia, who became a state trooper in 2019, was suspended without pay since early November – when state police first announced they launched an investigation into the shooting.
He then resigned from his position on Friday, and is now facing charges with tampering with evidence, false reporting of a crime and official misconduct.
The former trooper and his parents, Dorothy Mascia, 55, and former NYPD Officer Thomas Mascia Sr., 62, turned themselves in to state police on Monday, after investigators discovered a Smith & Wesson semiautomaitc rifle inside their home while conducting a search following the shooting.
Police say the weapon was not the one Mascia shot himself with, but as a convicted felon, his father is not allowed to own a gun.
He was charged in 1992 for illegally buying and selling cocaine in a massive corruption scandal, and was fired in 1993 after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute.
All three Mascias have pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance, as the former trooper’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he has been suffering from ‘untreated mental health issues’ for years.
‘There are many less severe and less dangerous ways to garner sympathy that don’t include shooting oneself,’ he wrote in court documents obtained by NBC News.
‘This case is a tragedy that was caused by unseen and untreated mental health issues. And now an entire family is suffering for it as they usually do in such situations.’
Mascia is now facing charges with tampering with evidence, false reporting of a crime and official misconduct
State police officials had also said last year they were investigating whether Mascia suffered from mental health problems, but an investigation and psychiatric exam found ‘no apparent red flags,’ James said.
He called Mascia’s conduct ‘egregious’ and said it ‘harmed the reputation of law enforcement in general.
‘What I will make clear is that the State Police, we do not tolerate such conduct, especially wrongdoing when a member breaks the law.’
The New York State Troopers Benevolent Association also released a statement saying: ‘We are saddened and sickened by this case.
‘The actions of one individual must not be allowed to cast a negative light on that commitment and detract from the important, positive work Troopers do every day across the state.
‘Our focus remains on serving New Yorkers,’ the Benevolent Association said. ‘We’ll leave it to the court to ensure justice is served in this case.’
Mascia is now facing up to four years in prison, and is due back in court on February 5.
