Suffolk jury convicts Huntington Station man of fourth DWI offense
A Huntington Station driver was convicted of his fourth DWI in 10 years after a .22% BAC stop tied to a New York Avenue parking lot fight.
How does someone rack up a fourth DWI in 10 years? In Suffolk County, prosecutors say Walter Danilo Perez Sanchez kept driving until a Huntington Station parking lot call on New York Avenue turned into another felony case, one that now puts him at up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.
Perez Sanchez, 42, was found guilty by a jury on May 27 of aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and circumventing an interlock device, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said. The verdict was announced May 28. His sentencing is set for July 27.
The case began on March 20, 2025, when a witness called 911 to report three men fighting in a parking lot in Huntington Station. Suffolk County police said their investigation shifted once officers determined Perez Sanchez had driven a silver Toyota RAV4 into the lot while intoxicated. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol concentration measured .22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit.
Officers said they saw clear signs of impairment, including the odor of alcohol, bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech and unsteadiness. Prosecutors said he performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests before consenting to a blood test at Huntington Hospital.
The verdict marks the latest chapter in a repeat-offender record that Suffolk prosecutors say should have triggered intervention long before this arrest. The district attorney’s office said Perez Sanchez had prior DWI convictions on Nov. 25, 2019, March 16, 2023 and April 9, 2024. The April 2024 case involved two counts of driving while intoxicated, both Class D felonies.
Suffolk County law requires vehicle seizure in certain intoxicated-driving cases when a driver has a prior conviction, a policy aimed at taking repeat impaired drivers off the road. County officials say that process includes a notice of seizure and hearing mailed within seven to 10 business days. The Suffolk County Probation Department says its mission includes community protection, offender supervision and sentencing investigations.
Perez Sanchez is represented by The Legal Aid Society. After the jury verdict, prosecutors asked that he be remanded into custody, but the court denied that request and allowed him to remain on release status until sentencing. The case now returns to court with one central question still hanging over it: why Suffolk’s safeguards failed to stop a chronic impaired driver before he was found guilty for a fourth time.
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