A New York woman who pleaded guilty to running over and killing a mother who had become an anti-gang activist after her daughter was murdered by an MS-13 gang member will not serve jail time.
Instead, a judge sentenced Ann Marie Drago, 63, of Patchogue, to five years probation for criminally negligent homicide, opting against the district attorney’s recommendation of up to three years in prison.
Back in 2018, Drago struck and killed 50-year-old Evelyn Rodriguez during a dispute over a memorial for Rodriguez’s daughter, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, who was beaten and hacked to death two years earlier by members of the notorious criminal gang MS-13.
Rodriguez had emerged as a prominent figure in the fight against MS-13 gang violence following her daughter’s death on Sept. 13, 2016.
Her efforts 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 along with Nisa Mickens, her best friend and classmate at Brentwood High School.
In the months leading up to the 2016 slayings, Kayla Cuevas was involved in an ongoing dispute with MS-13 members, which intensified after a confrontation at school, after which several members of the gang decided to kill Kayla and Nisa.
The assailants, driving in separate vehicles, spotted the pair walking down the street and attacked with baseball bats and a machete, inflicting fatal injuries.
Mickens was found dead on the street from blunt force and sharp force trauma, while Cuevas was discovered dead the next day.
Police charged 19-year-old Jairo ‘Funny’ Saenz in the killings and prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against him and his brother, Alexi Saenz, who helped him carry out the crime with at least two other MS-13 members.
MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a notorious criminal gang founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It originated primarily with Salvadoran immigrants and has since expanded its influence across the United States, Latin America, and other regions.
Alexi Saenz, a leader of the MS-13 clique Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside, pleaded guilty in July to multiple murders, including the brutal killings of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens in 2016.
Saenz admitted to hunting down and attacking the teenage girls with machetes and baseball bats, along with several other murders and crimes, including narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.
Although the federal government initially sought the death penalty, it withdrew the plan in 2023. Saenz faces a sentence of 40 to 70 years under a plea agreement, with sentencing set for January 31. Charges 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 Sept. 15, 2018 was not gang-related.
Drago, who admitted running over Rodriguez, was trying to sell her mother’s house and wanted to remove the memorial, fearing it might deter potential buyers.
Hours before the annual vigil, Drago — who worked as a caregiver and nurse on Long Island — was spotted trashing the memorial, running roughshod over the balloons and flowers in her 2016 Nissan Rouge.
In response, Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas, Kayla’s father, angrily confronted Drago in her car. That’s when Drago accelerated and ran over the grieving mother.
Despite the heated confrontation that had just occurred, the driver of the car stopped and called 911, then cooperated with the investigation.
Rodriguez was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she was pronounced dead.
At the time, Trump tweeted about Rodriguez, saying: “My thoughts and prayers are with Evelyn Rodriguez this evening, along with her family and friends. #RIPEvelyn.”
Drago faced two trials over Rodriguez’s death: the first resulted in a guilty verdict that would have resulted in nine months in jail. However, that was later overturned on appeal, and the second trial ended in a hung jury in October 2023.
During the previous trials, Drago’s defense attorney characterized the incident as a tragic accident after Rodriguez’s foot got stuck underneath a tire as Drago hit the gas and drove off. While the prosecution argued that Drago cut the wheel in Rodriguez’s direction and hit the gas.
The lenient sentence indicated that the court believed Drago had already faced enough hardship.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Drago remained stoic in court, saying nothing while Freddy Cuevas and Rodriguez’s two surviving daughters, Kaitlyn and Kelsey, wept nearby.
“We didn’t get the justice that we was looking for, as far as that’s considered,” Cuevas said, according to CBS News. “Her getting probation, that’s like a slap on the hand.”
“I will never forgive you for what you did,” Kaitlyn told Drago as part of her victim statement.
“There will still be no peace in me or my family’s heart,” Kelsey added.
They all said they were struggling to come to terms with the judge’s decision.
“I just felt sorrow for my daughters because of the pain they are going through,” Freddy Cuevas said. “Evelyn was considered a great advocate for the community.”
“She’s going to be free. She’s going to be living her life, but judgment day will come one day,” Cuevas added.
The news story drew strong reactions from readers alike. One user tweeted, “Disgusting. She belongs in jail.”
