Police arrested Antonio Olmeda, 53, on Monday, December 19, in connection to an attempted shooting of two police officers in Jackson Heights, according to the department's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information.

On Friday, December 2, at just before 4 p.m., two uniformed officers patrolling on foot in the vicinity of 76th Street and Roosevelt Avenue were alerted by a passerby of a man acting suspiciously at the corner of 37th Road and 76th Street.

At the location, the officers saw a man wearing a black trench coat, a hat, sunglasses and a fake beard, according to a report from the 115th Precinct.

When the officers approached the individual and asked him for identification, he pulled out a black revolver, fired three shots at the officers and fled south down 77th Street. The officers pursued the man but were unable to apprehend him. However, they did recover the fake beard, hat and sunglasses. Neither of the officers sustained injuries.

Olmeda was arrested in Manhattan where he resides, and charged with two counts of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

“Our officers miraculously escaped injury when their assailant fired at extremely close range, narrowly missing them,” said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly in a statement last Monday.

He added, “Olmeda's arrest was bittersweet in that it came this morning as the family of Police Officer Peter Figoski prepared for his funeral,” referring to a 47-year-old cop who was shot in the face and killed while responding to a robbery in Cypress Hills the previous Monday.

Police identified Olmeda through DNA they found on the sunglasses found at the crime scene. They then determined that a blue 2001 Chevy Venture was registered to his name.

At roughly 4 a.m. Monday morning, Inspector Stephen Hughes, commanding officer for the Police Department's Warrant Section, was canvassing in upper Manhattan when he found Olmeda's van parked outside of 323 East 116th Street.

At about 8 a.m., police apprehended Olmeda as he attempted to enter the van.

Olmeda had a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with two magazines containing seven rounds each. In his van, they found a snub-nosed .38-caliber revolver with three expanded shell casings in its cylinder.

The Emergency Service Unit and the Bomb Squad were called to the scene when a suspicious package with wires protruding from it was found. The Bomb Squad determined that the wires were attached to a police light and siren package under the van's dashboard, according to police.

A counterfeit police parking plaque was also found in the van, along with a plastic bin filled with two dozen bottles of possible cleaning chemicals.

In 2002, bomb-making materials were found in Olmeda's New York City apartment during an investigation after he was taken into federal custody in North Carolina when he was charged with possession of ammunition after asking suspicious questions about security at Fort Bragg.

In addition, Olmeda was arrested in 1994 for patronizing a prostitute. During a search of his vehicle related to that arrest, explosive devices and an Uzi submachine gun with extra ammunition were recovered, according to police.