A Suffolk County judge released a 36-year-old Flanders man without bail this week, just days after a jury convicted him of his fourth felony drunken-driving offense, prompting sharp public criticism from prosecutors who say he remains a threat behind the wheel. Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez was found guilty on August 7 of Driving While Intoxicated Per Se and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, stemming from a November 29, 2025, arrest on Longneck Boulevard in Flanders.
Police were alerted to Aguilar-Alvarez's vehicle after his girlfriend asked a gas station clerk to call 911 while the couple stopped to buy alcohol, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. Officers pulled him over after watching his car blow through a stop sign and cross double yellow lines, and during the stop he tried to make it look like he hadn't been driving by exiting through the passenger-side door, per the same account. He failed roadside field sobriety tests and later recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.17 percent, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
It was hardly his first brush with the charge. Aguilar-Alvarez's record includes a misdemeanor DWI conviction in May 2012, Class E felony DWI convictions in April and October 2017, and a Class D felony Aggravated DWI conviction in June 2022, according to prosecutors. Following that 2022 conviction, federal authorities deported him to El Salvador in March 2024, and he later re-entered the country before landing in front of a jury again this month.
Prosecutors Wanted Him Held, Judge Disagreed
At sentencing arrangements, prosecutors asked County Court Judge Bryan L. Browns to remand Aguilar-Alvarez or set bail, arguing he posed a flight risk given that he now faces two and a third to seven years in prison. Browns instead ordered him released on his own recognizance pending sentencing, scheduled for October 2. DA Ray Tierney warned publicly that the decision leaves no legal barrier preventing Aguilar-Alvarez from driving impaired again before he is sentenced, as reported by the New York Post.
The case highlights a legal distinction that often gets lost in public debate over bail. New York's bail statutes mandate release on recognizance for most non-violent felonies before trial, but once a jury has convicted a defendant, judges retain broader statutory discretion to order remand or set bail pending sentencing, according to the Center for Justice Innovation. That means Browns' decision to release Aguilar-Alvarez was a discretionary post-verdict call, not one dictated by the pretrial bail reforms that Tierney has long criticized.
A Judge's Mixed Record on Flight Risk
Browns' own history on the bench cuts against a simple narrative. In March, he ordered Polish national Adam Chrzanowski held without bail after Chrzanowski was extradited from Poland on first-degree bail jumping charges tied to a fatal 2022 drunken-driving crash in Cutchogue, according to the district attorney's office. Chrzanowski had fled the country in March 2024 following an indictment for aggravated vehicular homicide. In June, Browns also set bail at $700,000 cash or a $2 million partially secured bond for a defendant arraigned in a major Suffolk County cocaine trafficking case, as detailed by Newsday.
Browns was appointed to the county court bench in early 2024 after previously serving as Chief Legal Operations Officer for the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County and, briefly, as Executive Director of the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency, Newsday has reported. The Legal Aid Society, which provides representation to people from underprivileged backgrounds, also represented Aguilar-Alvarez in his case, according to Tierney.
Statute Explains the Escalating Felony Charges
Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1193, a DWI charge is elevated from a misdemeanor to a Class E felony when a driver has a prior DWI conviction within the preceding decade, and subsequent convictions within that window can escalate charges to a Class D felony carrying up to seven years in prison, according to the New York State Bar Association. That look-back window is why Aguilar-Alvarez's latest offense carries such steep exposure despite involving no crash or injury in the November arrest.
Tierney has campaigned against New York's bail reform laws since he first ran for office in 2021, arguing that statutory restrictions on judicial bail authority compromise public safety. His office has not publicly detailed whether Aguilar-Alvarez is subject to any active federal immigration detainer following his 2024 deportation and reentry. For now, Aguilar-Alvarez remains free on his own recognizance until his October 2 sentencing date.
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