What Happened
A four-time felony DWI offender under a court-issued no-driving order was stopped behind the wheel near Main Street in Riverhead on Sunday, August 17, 2026, and then detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney, who announced the arrest Tuesday.
Detective investigators from the DA’s office pulled over Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez after observing him driving without a valid license. He was taken in for processing and issued a summons for second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. After the DA’s office consulted with federal immigration authorities, ICE detained him following arrest processing.
The stop came 11 days after a Suffolk County jury convicted Aguilar-Alvarez on August 7 of driving recklessly in Southampton with a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit of 0.08. That was his fourth felony DWI conviction in the past decade. He also has an earlier misdemeanor DWI on his record.
Following the August 7 verdict, the DA’s office asked the court to remand Aguilar-Alvarez until sentencing, citing his history of disregarding court orders and concern he would flee the country. The court declined. His license was revoked and he was given an explicit order not to drive. Sentencing is scheduled for October 2, 2026.
Aguilar-Alvarez was deported in 2024 following his third DWI conviction, per the Greater Long Island report. He has been in the country illegally since returning, Tierney 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,” Tierney said in a statement Tuesday. “He is a repeat felony drunk driver who does not belong behind the wheel.”
Location & Road Context
The stop occurred near Main Street in Riverhead, the county seat of Suffolk County at the eastern end of Long Island. Main Street runs through the commercial core of Riverhead Town and carries regular traffic on Route 25. DA detective investigators were the arresting agency; no Suffolk County Police Department units were listed as primary in the DA’s announcement.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Aguilar-Alvarez faces a summons for second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle from Sunday’s stop, according to the DA’s office. That charge is separate from the fourth felony DWI conviction entered August 7, on which he awaits sentencing October 2 in Suffolk County court. ICE holds him pending immigration proceedings; the DA’s office coordinated the federal detention after completing local arrest processing.
The DA had sought remand after the August 7 conviction on the grounds that Aguilar-Alvarez had repeatedly ignored legal constraints and posed a flight risk. The court released him anyway. He was behind the wheel within 11 days.
What This DWI Charge Means
New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 creates three tiers of impaired-driving offenses. A DWAI (§ 1192.1) applies when a driver’s ability is impaired by alcohol but BAC is below 0.08; it is a traffic infraction on a first offense. A standard DWI (§ 1192.2) requires a BAC of 0.08 or higher and is a misdemeanor on the first offense, carrying fines up to $1,000, a six-month license revocation, and up to one year in jail. An Aggravated DWI (§ 1192.2-a) applies at 0.18 BAC or higher and carries steeper fines and a one-year revocation on a first offense.
Aguilar-Alvarez’s August 7 conviction was his fourth felony-level DWI in ten years. Under New York law, a third DWI within ten years is an E felony; a fourth elevates exposure further and can draw a sentence of up to seven years in state prison. Mandatory ignition interlock device installation applies upon any DWI conviction in New York; for repeat offenders, courts routinely order multi-year interlock periods as a condition of any license restoration. Refusing a chemical test triggers an automatic one-year license revocation under VTL § 1194, independent of any criminal outcome, and the refusal is admissible at trial.
Drivers convicted of felony DWI in New York also face mandatory surcharges, a driver responsibility assessment of $250 per year for three years (rising to $500 per year at BAC 0.18 or higher), and are ineligible for a conditional license during any period of revocation imposed as a felony sentence condition.
Case Status & Updates
The charges from Sunday’s stop — second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle — are an accusation. Aguilar-Alvarez is presumed innocent on that count until proven guilty in court. The August 7 felony DWI conviction is a matter of record; sentencing on that case is set for October 2, 2026, in Suffolk County court. ICE detention may affect his availability for that proceeding.
Long Island Traffic tracks DWI cases through Suffolk and Nassau county courts and updates each report with arraignment outcomes, pleas, and sentencing results as they become public record. Check back after October 2 for the sentencing result.