What Happened
Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, a Salvadoran national with four felony DWI convictions on Long Island, was arrested in Riverhead on Monday, August 18, 2026, for driving without a license, then transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before the day was out, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
The arrest came fewer than 10 days after Suffolk County Judge Bryan Browns released Aguilar-Alvarez without bail on August 10, according to the New York Post. A jury had just convicted him of his fourth felony DWI in 10 years. At release, the court ordered him not to operate a motor vehicle while awaiting sentencing. He faces up to seven years in prison when he appears before the court on October 2.
Riverhead police pulled him over and found him driving without a license. Officers issued a summons for misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Prosecutors then contacted federal immigration authorities. As Aguilar-Alvarez was leaving the DA’s office after processing on the new charge, ICE agents took him into custody, the DA’s office said.
“It is self-evident that given his history of multiple felony convictions, Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez is a clear and present danger to any Suffolk County citizen traveling on our roads,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement Tuesday. “Less than two weeks after his fourth felony DWI conviction, and despite explicit instructions not to drive, the defendant once again got behind the wheel of a vehicle.”
Aguilar-Alvarez had previously been deported in March 2024 following his third DWI conviction, the DA’s office said. He reentered the United States illegally after that removal. It is not clear when he first entered the country, per the New York Post report.
Tierney said his office plans to return Aguilar-Alvarez to Suffolk County to face the October 2 sentencing on the felony DWI conviction as well as the new unlicensed-operation summons.
Location & Road Context
The traffic stop occurred in Riverhead, the easternmost township of Suffolk County on the North Fork corridor. Riverhead sits at the junction of Route 25 and Route 58, two of the primary east-west arteries serving eastern Long Island. For more on road conditions and incidents in the area, see Long Island Traffic’s roads coverage and accidents archive.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Aguilar-Alvarez is currently held in ICE custody. The Suffolk County DA’s office coordinated directly with federal immigration authorities after the Riverhead stop, and the handoff occurred at the DA’s office during post-arrest processing, according to the DA’s office statement reported by the New York Post.
His sentencing on the fourth felony DWI conviction is scheduled for October 2 in Suffolk County court. The maximum exposure on that conviction is seven years. The Riverhead summons for misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle will be addressed at the same proceeding, DA Tierney said.
What This DWI Charge Means
New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 creates several tiers of impaired-driving offenses. A DWAI (§ 1192.1) requires only that drugs or alcohol impaired the driver to any degree. A standard DWI (§ 1192.2) applies when a chemical test shows a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. Aggravated DWI (§ 1192.2-a) applies at a BAC of 0.18 or higher and carries steeper mandatory penalties on the first offense.
Repeat convictions compound every consequence. A first DWI misdemeanor draws fines of $500 to $1,000, a minimum six-month license revocation, and a possible jail term of up to one year. A second DWI within 10 years becomes a Class E felony; a third, a Class D felony. At the felony level, mandatory ignition interlock installation applies, license revocation extends to at least one year, and the court may impose a state prison term. Aguilar-Alvarez’s fourth felony conviction exposes him to a sentence of up to seven years, which Judge Browns will determine on October 2. A driver who refuses a chemical test under New York’s implied-consent law faces an automatic one-year license revocation and a $500 civil penalty, independent of any criminal outcome.
Case Status & Updates
An arrest or summons is an accusation. Aguilar-Alvarez is presumed innocent on the new misdemeanor charge until proven guilty in court. The felony DWI conviction from August 10 is, however, a jury verdict, and sentencing proceeds from that finding.
Long Island Traffic tracks DWI cases through the Suffolk County court system and updates each report as arraignment outcomes, pleas, and sentencing dates enter the public record. Check back here for the October 2 sentencing result. For background on New York DWI charges and your rights during a traffic stop, see our Know Your Rights section.