QUEENS, N.Y. — Nearly four years after pleading guilty to misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, an unhoused man returned to Queens Criminal Court on Thursday still tethered to the same case, as Judge Indira Khan warned that his sentence could still be executed if he cannot prove he completed a court-ordered program. Prosecutors told the court the accused has no working cell phone and no fixed address, complicating efforts to verify his compliance.
The accused was arrested Sept. 27, 2022, and later pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated, with three related traffic charges folded into the plea. In exchange, he received a one-year conditional discharge — a sentence meant to keep him out of jail, but one carrying a series of conditions: completion of the state’s Impaired Driver Program, attendance at a Victim Impact Panel, a one-year ignition interlock requirement, a $500 fine, roughly $400 in mandatory court surcharges and a six-month license revocation.
The court file reflects a long compliance history marked by repeated bench warrants and a July 2025 filing alleging the accused had violated the terms of his conditional discharge. A warrant was vacated at his prior appearance on June 15, when he was released on his own recognizance.
The accused was also in need of an interpreter, Deputy Public Defender Thomas Johnson told the court. Thursday’s appearance was for the results of a program assessment, which showed the accused needed to be reassessed before he could finish.
With no phone and no fixed address, he could not easily be reached, and the court worked to obtain proof of his progress directly from the program provider rather than from the accused himself.
Judge Khan showed some accommodation from the bench as she vacated the outstanding warrant and granted more time, adjourning the case to July 15 as a final date to show proof of the assessment and completion. She cautioned that if proof is not produced, the sentence could be executed against him.
The result is a conditional discharge — entered to avoid jail — that has instead kept an unhoused man who needs an interpreter tied to the court for close to four years, with incarceration still possible not over the original offense but over conditions he has been unable to meet. He is next due back July 15 for what the judge set as a final compliance date.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
