Ann Marie Drago pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide in 2018 death of anti-gang activist Rodriguez
The former Patchogue nurse tried twice for killing anti-gang activist Evelyn Rodriguez in 2018 by driving over her on the same Brentwood street where her daughter was killed two years earlier pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide Friday in an offer that will enable her to avoid prison.
Ann Marie Drago, 63, of Delaware County, will be sentenced Aug. 1 to 5 years' probation under an agreement with State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro. Prosecutors had offered her 1 to 3 years' prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
“After extensive consultation with my client, Ms. Drago has decided to withdraw her plea of not guilty and plead guilty as charged to felony criminally negligent homicide,” attorney Matthew Hereth of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County informed Ambro at what had been scheduled to be a final conference before jury selection began Monday.
Drago's first conviction on the felony charge, which resulted in a 9-month prison sentence, was overturned on appeal. A mistrial was declared after a jury reported it was deadlocked in October.
Drago and Hereth declined to comment following the appearance. Family members for Rodriguez were not present in court for the surprising guilty plea.
Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Laura Newcombe asked Drago under oath Friday if she turned her wheel to the left and struck Rodriguez, causing her death on Ray Court on Sept. 14, 2018, an incident that was captured on camera by a News 12 film crew that was present to film a vigil Rodriguez was hosting for her daughter that evening.
“And did you cause her death through criminal negligence,” Newcombe asked.
“Yes,” Drago said.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced immediately following the previous mistrial that he intended to try the case a third time.
“Evelyn Rodriguez was still mourning the loss of her daughter when this defendant dismantled her daughter’s memorial, and then struck the victim with her vehicle, ultimately causing her death,” Tierney said in a statement. “I hope this plea brings some sense of peace and closure to Ms. Rodriguez’s family, a family that has suffered multiple tragic losses. My office is committed to continue Ms. Rodriguez’s fight to combat the scourge of gang violence, and to make our streets safer for all residents of Suffolk County.”
Drago was also convicted in October of petit larceny for dismantling and taking items Rodriguez had set up for the vigil and for that Ambro said he will sentence her to three years' probation to run concurrently with the sentence on the top charge. Drago was acquitted of criminal mischief for damaging items from the vigil during the October trial.
The judge indicated her probation will be transferred to the upstate county where she now resides.
Rodriguez received nationwide attention as an activist for speaking out against MS-13 after she was the guest of former President Donald Trump during a 2018 State of the Union address and later met with the president that same year when he visited Bethpage to talk about gang violence with local leaders.
Drago, while driving her Nissan Rogue, ran over Rodriguez, 50, of Brentwood, during a September 2018 confrontation over a Brentwood memorial for Rodriguez's slain 16-year-old daughter, Kayla Cuevas. Kayla and her 15-year-old friend, Nisa Mickens, were killed by MS-13 gang members, who have admitted their guilt in federal court.
Rodriguez, who had set up the memorial in front of the home of Drago’s mother before a vigil planned to mark the two-year anniversary of the discovery of Kayla’s remains on the property, died after Drago's vehicle ran her over and she suffered a fractured skull and brain injury. News12 Long Island captured the confrontation between Drago and Rodriguez on video, a key piece of evidence played at both trials.
Drago's initial conviction following a three-week trial was overturned by a state appeals court for misconduct by a former prosecutor under Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini.
In a decision released in July 2022, the four-judge panel of the Brooklyn-based New York Supreme Court Appellate Division said it agreed with “the defendant’s contention that the cumulative effect of the prosecutor’s improper comments during summation deprived the defendant of a fair trial.”
The appellate ruling said the prosecutor who delivered the summation “mischaracterized the evidence relating to the charge of criminally negligent homicide and confused the jury by repeatedly using language to suggest that the defendant’s conduct in striking Rodriguez with the vehicle was intentional or reckless” by using language such as “conscious, blameworthy choices.”
The ruling added that the prosecutor “continually evoked sympathy for Rodriguez by calling her a 'grieving mother' and referencing her 'murdered daughter' while the prosecutor continually denigrated the defense, referring to defense theories, repeatedly, as 'excuses,' and also as 'garbage,' and he falsely and provocatively claimed that the 'defense repeatedly argued that the death of Kayla … was an inconvenience and a nuisance.'”
The jury in the second trial, which featured testimony from 14 witnesses over two weeks, failed to reach a verdict on the criminally negligent homicide charge following four days of deliberations.
Criminally negligent homicide is punishable by up to 4 years in prison. To be found guilty, a jury must find the defendant acted with criminal negligence and failed to perceive a “substantial risk” that ended in another person's death.
Hereth, who did not represent Drago at the first trial, maintained at the second trial that a step Rodriguez took to the left just as Drago accelerated caused her foot to get stuck under the front driver's side tire. Former Suffolk County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Caplan told the jury skull fractures and bruising of the brain from when Rodriguez's head struck the pavement caused her death.
Newcombe said during closing arguments in October that even if Rodriguez had not taken that step, she would have been struck by Drago’s vehicle. She had positioned herself in the only direction Drago could travel to avoid hitting Rodriguez’s minivan as it blocked Drago's vehicle.
“The defendant failed to perceive the risk when she took her foot off the brake, turned the wheel to the left and hit the gas right in the direction of Evelyn Rodriguez,” Newcombe said.
Hereth said attempting to drive away from the chaotic scene was the only reasonable action for his client to take, as Cuevas and Rodriguez continued to shout expletives at her.
“Fight or flight,” the defense attorney said. “Freddy and Evelyn were there for a fight, [Drago] was not … Flight was the only reasonable thing to do.”
Newcombe said Drago could have called 911, inched her SUV forward or honked as she was attempting to leave the scene with some of Rodriguez’s belongings in her car and damaged items from the memorial in a nearby trash can.
“She wasn’t fleeing out of fear, she was fleeing out of guilt,” Newcombe said.
The former Patchogue nurse tried twice for killing anti-gang activist Evelyn Rodriguez in 2018 by driving over her on the same Brentwood street where her daughter was killed two years earlier pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide Friday in an offer that will enable her to avoid prison.
Ann Marie Drago, 63, of Delaware County, will be sentenced Aug. 1 to 5 years' probation under an agreement with State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro. Prosecutors had offered her 1 to 3 years' prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
“After extensive consultation with my client, Ms. Drago has decided to withdraw her plea of not guilty and plead guilty as charged to felony criminally negligent homicide,” attorney Matthew Hereth of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County informed Ambro at what had been scheduled to be a final conference before jury selection began Monday.
Drago's first conviction on the felony charge, which resulted in a 9-month prison sentence, was overturned on appeal. A mistrial was declared after a jury reported it was deadlocked in October.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The former Patchogue nurse tried twice for killing anti-gang activist Evelyn Rodriguez in 2018 by driving over her on the same Brentwood street where her daughter was killed two years earlier pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide Friday.
- Ann Marie Drago, 63, will be sentenced Aug. 1 to 5 years' probation under an agreement. Prosecutors had offered her 1 to 3 years' prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
- Her first conviction on the felony charge, which resulted in a 9-month prison sentence, was overturned on appeal. A mistrial was declared after a jury reported it was deadlocked in October.
Drago and Hereth declined to comment following the appearance. Family members for Rodriguez were not present in court for the surprising guilty plea.
Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Laura Newcombe asked Drago under oath Friday if she turned her wheel to the left and struck Rodriguez, causing her death on Ray Court on Sept. 14, 2018, an incident that was captured on camera by a News 12 film crew that was present to film a vigil Rodriguez was hosting for her daughter that evening.
“And did you cause her death through criminal negligence,” Newcombe asked.
“Yes,” Drago said.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced immediately following the previous mistrial that he intended to try the case a third time.
“Evelyn Rodriguez was still mourning the loss of her daughter when this defendant dismantled her daughter’s memorial, and then struck the victim with her vehicle, ultimately causing her death,” Tierney said in a statement. “I hope this plea brings some sense of peace and closure to Ms. Rodriguez’s family, a family that has suffered multiple tragic losses. My office is committed to continue Ms. Rodriguez’s fight to combat the scourge of gang violence, and to make our streets safer for all residents of Suffolk County.”
Evelyn Rodriguez addresses the Brentwood school board during a public meeting on Nov. 17, 2016. Credit: Danielle Finkelstein
Drago was also convicted in October of petit larceny for dismantling and taking items Rodriguez had set up for the vigil and for that Ambro said he will sentence her to three years' probation to run concurrently with the sentence on the top charge. Drago was acquitted of criminal mischief for damaging items from the vigil during the October trial.
The judge indicated her probation will be transferred to the upstate county where she now resides.
Rodriguez received nationwide attention as an activist for speaking out against MS-13 after she was the guest of former President Donald Trump during a 2018 State of the Union address and later met with the president that same year when he visited Bethpage to talk about gang violence with local leaders.
Drago, while driving her Nissan Rogue, ran over Rodriguez, 50, of Brentwood, during a September 2018 confrontation over a Brentwood memorial for Rodriguez's slain 16-year-old daughter, Kayla Cuevas. Kayla and her 15-year-old friend, Nisa Mickens, were killed by MS-13 gang members, who have admitted their guilt in federal court.
Rodriguez, who had set up the memorial in front of the home of Drago’s mother before a vigil planned to mark the two-year anniversary of the discovery of Kayla’s remains on the property, died after Drago's vehicle ran her over and she suffered a fractured skull and brain injury. News12 Long Island captured the confrontation between Drago and Rodriguez on video, a key piece of evidence played at both trials.
Drago's initial conviction following a three-week trial was overturned by a state appeals court for misconduct by a former prosecutor under Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini.
In a decision released in July 2022, the four-judge panel of the Brooklyn-based New York Supreme Court Appellate Division said it agreed with “the defendant’s contention that the cumulative effect of the prosecutor’s improper comments during summation deprived the defendant of a fair trial.”
The appellate ruling said the prosecutor who delivered the summation “mischaracterized the evidence relating to the charge of criminally negligent homicide and confused the jury by repeatedly using language to suggest that the defendant’s conduct in striking Rodriguez with the vehicle was intentional or reckless” by using language such as “conscious, blameworthy choices.”
The ruling added that the prosecutor “continually evoked sympathy for Rodriguez by calling her a 'grieving mother' and referencing her 'murdered daughter' while the prosecutor continually denigrated the defense, referring to defense theories, repeatedly, as 'excuses,' and also as 'garbage,' and he falsely and provocatively claimed that the 'defense repeatedly argued that the death of Kayla … was an inconvenience and a nuisance.'”
The jury in the second trial, which featured testimony from 14 witnesses over two weeks, failed to reach a verdict on the criminally negligent homicide charge following four days of deliberations.
Criminally negligent homicide is punishable by up to 4 years in prison. To be found guilty, a jury must find the defendant acted with criminal negligence and failed to perceive a “substantial risk” that ended in another person's death.
Hereth, who did not represent Drago at the first trial, maintained at the second trial that a step Rodriguez took to the left just as Drago accelerated caused her foot to get stuck under the front driver's side tire. Former Suffolk County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Caplan told the jury skull fractures and bruising of the brain from when Rodriguez's head struck the pavement caused her death.
Newcombe said during closing arguments in October that even if Rodriguez had not taken that step, she would have been struck by Drago’s vehicle. She had positioned herself in the only direction Drago could travel to avoid hitting Rodriguez’s minivan as it blocked Drago's vehicle.
“The defendant failed to perceive the risk when she took her foot off the brake, turned the wheel to the left and hit the gas right in the direction of Evelyn Rodriguez,” Newcombe said.
Hereth said attempting to drive away from the chaotic scene was the only reasonable action for his client to take, as Cuevas and Rodriguez continued to shout expletives at her.
“Fight or flight,” the defense attorney said. “Freddy and Evelyn were there for a fight, [Drago] was not … Flight was the only reasonable thing to do.”
Ann Marie Drago talks to her attorney, Matthew Hereth of Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, outside of court in Riverhead on Friday. Credit: Newsday/Grant Parpan
Newcombe said Drago could have called 911, inched her SUV forward or honked as she was attempting to leave the scene with some of Rodriguez’s belongings in her car and damaged items from the memorial in a nearby trash can.
“She wasn’t fleeing out of fear, she was fleeing out of guilt,” Newcombe said.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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