Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez was detained by federal immigration authorities after Suffolk County prosecutors said he was caught driving in Riverhead less than two weeks after his fourth felony DWI conviction and despite a court order barring him from driving.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Aguilar-Alvarez was convicted Aug. 7, 2026, of driving recklessly with a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit.
The conviction was his fourth felony DWI conviction within the past 10 years, according to prosecutors. He also has a prior misdemeanor DWI conviction.
Following the jury verdict, prosecutors asked the court to remand Aguilar-Alvarez while he awaited sentencing, citing his history and concerns that he could flee the country.
The court instead released him pending sentencing under conditions that explicitly prohibited him from driving. His license had also been revoked, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 17, detective investigators with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office stopped a vehicle Aguilar-Alvarez was allegedly driving near Main Street in Riverhead.
Prosecutors allege he was driving without a valid license. He was taken in for processing and issued a summons charging him with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, an unclassified misdemeanor.
After consulting with the District Attorney’s Office, federal immigration authorities detained Aguilar-Alvarez as he was leaving the office following processing, according to prosecutors.
The District Attorney’s Office said Aguilar-Alvarez had been deported in 2024 following his third DWI conviction and is currently in the United States illegally.
District Attorney Raymond Tierney called Aguilar-Alvarez a danger to motorists and thanked his office’s detective investigators and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for taking him into custody.
Aguilar-Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 2 on his latest felony DWI conviction. Prosecutors said they will file a writ seeking to have him returned to Suffolk County for sentencing and proceedings related to the new summons.
The latest charge is an accusation, and Aguilar-Alvarez is presumed innocent of that charge unless and until proven guilty.
