(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Walter Danilo Perez Sanchez, 42, a Guatemalan National, was found guilty after a jury trial of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated and other related charges, for driving while having a with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .22%.
“This defendant had three prior DWI convictions and still chose to drive drunk, demonstrating a continued disregard for our laws. His prior arrests have clearly failed to deter further criminal conduct.” said District Attorney Tierney. “Thanks to the work of our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors, this persistent drunk driver has now been stopped from putting other drivers’ and pedestrians’ lives at risk.”
The evidence at trial established that on March 20, 2025, a witness called 911 to report three males fighting in a parking lot on New York Avenue in Huntington Station. When members of the Suffolk County Police Department responded, their investigation into a fight turned into a DWI investigation when it was revealed that Perez Sanchez had driven a silver Toyota RAV4 into the parking lot while intoxicated. Officers observed that Perez Sanchez had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet.
Perez Sanchez also performed poorly on Standardized Field Sobriety Tests administered by the officers. Perez Sanchez was then transported to Huntington Hospital where he consented to a chemical test of his blood, which revealed that his BAC was .22%.
On May 27, 2026, Perez Sanchez was convicted of the following charges after a jury trial heard before Suffolk County Court Judge Bryan Browns:
- Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, a Class D felony;
- Driving While Intoxicated, a Class D felony;
- Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, an Unclassified misdemeanor; and
- Circumventing an Interlock Device, a Class A misdemeanor.
He was previously convicted of Driving While Intoxicated on November 25, 2019, and March 16, 2023. For his third and most recent conviction dated April 9, 2024, Perez Sanchez pleaded guilty to two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, Class D felonies.
Upon conviction, the District Attorney’s Office moved to remand Perez Sanchez into custody. The court denied the motion and allowed the defendant to continue on his release status. Perez Sanchez is due back in court for sentencing on July 27, 2026, and faces up to 2⅓ to 7 years in prison. He is being represented by The Legal Aid Society.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Syl-Don O’Gilvie and Jacob Delauter of the Major Crimes Bureau, with assistance from Paralegal Emily Lonigro. The investigation was conducted by Police Officer Matthew Stephan of the Suffolk County Police Department.
