Hauppauge Man Indicted on 19 Counts in Death of Off-Duty Nassau Officer

A Suffolk County grand jury indicted Matthew Smith, 20, of Hauppauge on 19 counts stemming from the January 31 crash that killed off-duty Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa, with the top charge of aggravated vehicular homicide alleging a blood alcohol content of .18 percent or more at the time of the fatal collision.

Smith is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead. The 19-count indictment, returned by the grand jury on March 9, dramatically escalates the legal stakes from his initial DWI arrest. If convicted on the top count, he faces between 8 and 25 years in prison under New York State law, with some legal reporting citing the statutory range more precisely as 8 1/3 to 25 years.

The indictment includes additional charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated vehicular assault for injuries suffered by his passenger, John Andali, 25, of Centereach. The full 19 counts span from aggravated vehicular homicide down to running a red light.

To secure the indictment, prosecutors presented the grand jury with surveillance video, vehicle telemetry data, and toxicology results. Event-data recovered from Smith's 2017 Chevrolet Silverado showed the truck traveling approximately 70 mph roughly one second before impact in a posted 30 mph zone, with the gas pedal depressed and the brake off. Prosecutors allege Smith reached speeds as high as 125 mph earlier that same night. At his initial DWI arraignment in Suffolk County District Court, a prosecutor stated Smith's blood alcohol content measured 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit. Investigators also recovered a bottle of Bacardi rum, a shot glass, rolling papers, a vape, and a stun gun from the pickup.

Surveillance footage traced a trail of alleged reckless behavior through Suffolk County in the hours before the crash. Smith, who at 20 was below the legal drinking age, was captured on camera consuming alcohol at James Joyce Pub in Patchogue during the late-night hours of January 30. He and Andali then attempted to enter Jake's 58 Casino Hotel but were turned away after it had already closed for the night. Prosecutors allege the pair continued driving and drinking across the county before Smith ran a red light on Route 347 at Alexander Road in Lake Grove at approximately 6 a.m. on January 31, slamming into Espinosa's 2019 Alfa Romeo. Video clips from Andali's Instagram account also purportedly show the Silverado weaving through traffic earlier in the night.

Espinosa, 42, was a 10-year veteran of the Nassau County Police Department and was driving to work when her car was struck. She was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Smith and Andali were also taken to Stony Brook and survived with non-life-threatening injuries.

Nassau County PBA President Tommy Shevlin described the weight of what Espinosa's death meant beyond the badge. "Officer Espinosa was the heart of a true law-enforcement family - her husband Francisco Malaga, and her two brothers, Christian and David Almeida, all who proudly serve as police officers - and she leaves behind a two-year-old daughter Mia, who will grow up knowing their mother was a hero," Shevlin said.

Smith's attorney, Anthony La Pinta, of Hauppauge, declined to comment ahead of the arraignment before Justice Mazzei in Riverhead.