A New York state trooper who claimed in October 2024 that he was shot in the line of duty turned himself into New York State Police (NYSP) headquarters on Monday, Jan. 27, the NYSP announced.
Former Trooper Thomas J. Mascia Jr., 27, reported that on Wednesday, Oct. 30, around 11:45 p.m., he was shot in the leg while checking on a disabled vehicle in the median on the Southern State Parkway in North Massapequa, N.Y.
He “initiated a radio transmission for shots fired,” according to a felony complaint, ABC News reports. Mascia “claimed he was shot by the driver of a black Dodger Charger described as either a Black or dark-skinned Hispanic male.” Mascia was transported and treated at the hospital for the gunshot wound to his right leg.
As a result, “the report also triggered an intense search to locate the vehicle described by Mascia,” per the NYSP. However, Mascia allegedly “staged the scene of the shooting. And earlier in the day, he placed nine shell casings on the ground before he “shot himself in the leg in another location before returning to the staged location” on the parkway.
On Monday, NYSP Superintendent Steven G. James and Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced Mascia’s arrest and that he could be in prison for one to three years. He was charged with tampering with physical evidence, falsely reporting an incident and official misconduct. He also resigned from his State Police position.
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Mascia’s arrest, his parents, Thomas Sr., 62, and Dorothy, 55, were both charged with criminal possession of a firearm. An illegal assault-style gun and $800,000 in cash were found in their home, where Thomas Jr. also resides.
Although the firearm was not the same one used in the shooting, Thomas Sr. is a convicted felon, and it is illegal for him to own a gun. The couple also surrendered to the police.
Thomas Sr. is a former New York Police Department officer. In 1993, he was dismissed from the force after he was accused of running a cocaine ring, according to The New York Times.
Each was released on their own bail on Monday.
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During a Monday press conference, Donnelly said that Thomas Jr. “knew the fear that it would create — and he did it anyway,” she said, adding that his intentions for the “unconscionable” deception were unclear. “It didn’t take long for everyone to uncover that his harrowing story was nothing more than an elaborate work of fiction,” Donnelly said.
“This case is a tragedy that was caused by unseen and untreated mental health issues, and now an entire family is suffering for it,” the family’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said in a statement.
Thomas Jr. was previously investigated in 2024 for mental health, but there were “no apparent red flags,” James said at the news conference, per the New York Times. He has also been disciplined at least three times for reckless driving since he joined the force in 2019, per the Times.
He and his parents are expected to make their next court appearance on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
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Lichtman and the N.Y. State Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Monday.
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