New York judge sentences white woman to probation after being videotaped driving over grieving mother just feet from memorial for dead daughter

A New York woman who pleaded guilty to striking and killing a mother who became an anti-gang activist after her daughter was murdered by an MS-13 gang member won’t go to prison.

Instead, a judge sentenced Ann Marie Drago, 63, of Patchogue, to five years probation for involuntary manslaughter, denying the district attorney’s request for a sentence of up to three years in prison.

In 2018, Drago struck and killed 50-year-old Evelyn Rodriguez during an argument over a memorial to Rodriguez’s daughter, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, who had been beaten and murdered two years earlier by members of the notorious MS-13 gang.

Rodriguez became a distinguished figure within the fight against MS-13 gang violence following the death of her daughter on September 13, 2016.

Her actions gained national attention when then-President Donald Trump visited Brentwood to address gang violence and invited Rodriguez to his 2018 State of the Union address.

Rodriguez’s daughter, Kayla, was killed together with Nisa Mickens, her best friend and classmate at Brentwood High School.

In the months leading up to the 2016 killings, Kayla Cuevas was embroiled in an ongoing feud with members of the MS-13 gang, which escalated after a confrontation at college during which several gang members decided to kill Kayla and Nisa.

The attackers, travelling in separate cars, spotted the couple walking down the road and attacked them with baseball bats and a machete, fatally wounding them.

Mickens was found dead on the street from blunt force trauma, while Cuevas’ body was found the next day.

Police charged 19-year-old Jairo “Funny” Saenz with murder, and prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for him and his brother, Alexi Saenz, who helped him commit the crime together with not less than two other MS-13 members.

MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is an infamous criminal gang that was founded in Los Angeles within the Nineteen Eighties. Initially composed primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, MS-13 has since expanded its influence across the United States, Latin America, and other regions.

Alexi Saenz, a frontrunner of the MS-13 Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside clique, pleaded guilty in July to multiple murders, including the brutal 2016 slayings of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens.

Saenz admitted to hunting down teenage girls and attacking them with machetes and baseball bats, and to committing several other murders and crimes, including drug trafficking and firearm possession.

Although the federal government initially sought the death penalty, it withdrew that plan in 2023. Saenz faces between 40 and 70 years in prison under the plea agreement, and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 31. Cases are still pending against his brother, Jairo Saenz, who was reportedly second-in-command of the gang.

Unlike her daughter, Rodriguez’s violent death on September 15, 2018, was not gang-related.

Drago, who admitted to running over Rodriguez, was trying to sell her mother’s home and wanted to remove the statue, fearing it could scare off potential buyers.

Hours before the annual vigil, Drago — who worked as a caregiver and nurse on Long Island — was spotted vandalizing the memorial by destroying balloons and flowers along with her 2016 Nissan Rouge.

In response, Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas, Kayla’s father, angrily confronted Drago in her automotive, at which point Drago sped off and ran over the grieving mother.

Despite the violent confrontation that had just occurred, the motive force of the automotive stopped and called 911 after which cooperated with investigators.

Rodriguez was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where she was pronounced dead.

At the time, Trump tweeted about Rodriguez: “My thoughts and prayers are with Evelyn Rodriguez, her family and friends tonight. #RIPEvelyn.”

Drago faced two trials in Rodriguez’s death: the primary led to a guilty verdict that may have resulted in nine months in prison, but that was later overturned on appeal, and the second trial led to a hung jury in October 2023.

At previous trials, Drago’s defense attorney described the incident as a tragic accident, when Rodriguez’s foot got caught under the tire when Drago hit the gas and sped away, while the prosecution argued that Drago cut Rodriguez’s tire and hit the gas.

The lenient sentence indicated that the court felt Drago had already suffered enough.

During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Drago remained calm and silent as Freddy Cuevas and Rodriguez’s two surviving daughters, Kaitlyn and Kelsey, cried nearby.

“We did not get the justice we were hoping for given the issue,” Cuevas said. according to CBS News“The fact that she got a suspended sentence is like a slap in the hand.”

“I will never forgive you for what you did,” Kaitlyn Drago said in a victim impact statement.

“There is still no peace for me or my family,” Kelsey added.

They all said they found it difficult to come to terms with the referee’s decision.

“I felt sad for my daughters because of the pain they were going through,” Freddy Cuevas said. “Evelyn was considered a great advocate for the community.”

“She will be free. She will live her life, but judgment day will come one day,” Cuevas added.

The message sparked strong reactions from readers. One user he tweeted, “Disgusting. She should be in jail.”