Woman Pleads Guilty In Death Of LI Mom Who Lost Child To MS-13: DA

BRENTWOOD, NY — A former Patchogue woman pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide on Friday after being tried twice for the death of anti-gang activist Evelyn Rodriguez, whose teenage daughter was killed by MS-13 gang members, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

Annmarie Drago, 63, of Patchogue, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro after fatally striking Evelyn Rodriguez, 50, of Brentwood, with her SUV in 2018, after Drago removed items from a memorial honoring Rodriguez’s daughter, Tierney said.

Rodriguez lost her daughter Kayla Cuevas, 16, to the deadly MS-13 gang who butchered her and her friend, Nisa Mickens, with baseball bats and machetes on the eve of Nisa's 16th birthday in 2018, the DA said.

Her death was among the many that brought then-President Donald Trump to Long Island to declare war on the violent scourge.

After losing her daughter to gang violence, Rodriguez became an anti-gang advocate, devoting her life to eradicating deadly MS-13.

The DA recommended Drago serve one to three years in prison, but said she's expected to receive five years of probation, Tierney said.

According to the DA, Drago admitted that on the afternoon of September 14, 2018, she removed items from the memorial Rodriguez created, which was on the sidewalk in front of Drago’s mother's Brentwood home, near where Cuevas was killed, the DA said.

Drago threw out and destroyed memorial items including photos, candles, balloons and flowers that she put in the back of her car just minutes before the vigil commemorating Cuevas' death began, the DA said.

The DA said that Rodriguez and longtime partner Freddy Cuevas were called to the memorial site by an on-site news team that filmed Rodriguez demanding that Drago return the items. At around 4:15 p.m., as Rodriguez stood by the front driver’s side tire of Drago’s vehicle, Drago attempted to leave the scene when she knocked Rodriguez down and continued to drive over her, the DA said.

Rodriguez suffered multiple injuries—including a skull fracture—and was transported to Southside Hospital where she was pronounced dead, the DA said.

Shortly after Rodriguez was taken to the hospital, people arrived at the scene expecting a memorial. Instead, they received news of another devastating death.

In video footage aired by News 12, Rodriguez and a man can be seen confronting a woman in a white SUV seconds before the SUV strikes Rodriguez.

In March 2020, a jury found Drago guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a Class E felony, fourth-degree criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor and petty larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho, the DA said.

Drago was sentenced to nine months in jail in March 2021, he said. Then in July 2022, the Appellate Division reversed that conviction and the case was sent back to Suffolk County Court for a retrial, the DA said.

On October 20, 2023, Drago was found guilty of petty larceny, a misdemeanor, and was acquitted of fourth-degree criminal mischief after a retrial by a jury heard before Ambro, the DA said.

A mistrial was declared on the criminally negligent homicide charge and the DA's office said it would retry the case, Tierney said.

“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. We hope this plea brings some sense of peace and closure to Ms. Rodriguez’s family, a family that has suffered multiple tragic losses," Tierney said. “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 is due back in court for sentencing on August 1.

Patch reached out to Matt Hereth, of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, who represents Drago. He has not yet responded for comment.