Long Island woman found guilty in grieving mother's death
Ann Marie Drago, 59, was convicted Wednesday in the death of Evelyn Rodriguez in connection to the September 2018 confrontation that led to Rodriguez's death.
NEW YORK - A nurse and mother from Long Island was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide after mowing down and killing a mother who had lost her daughter to gang violence.
Evelyn Rodriguez was killed when Ann Marie Drago struck and killed the grieving mother in the same spot her daughter's body was found two years earlier.
Prosecutors said Drago stole and intentionally destroyed parts of a memorial to Rodriguez's daughter to protect the sale of her mother's home near the site. But when Rodriguez and her longtime partner, Freddy confronted Drago, it turned deadly.
Drago's lawyer, Stephen Kunken, had told the court that the fatal encounter was a “tragic accident.”
Drago was also convicted of criminal mischief and petit larceny following a trial in Suffolk County Court.
Rodriguez became a symbol in the fight against gang violence after her 16-year-old daughter was hacked and beaten to death.
Drago faces a maximum of four years in prison.