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The Farmingdale man accused of driving drunk and killing Brentwood Army veteran Nelson Gonzalez faces a sweeping indictment that includes second-degree aggravated vehicular homicide as the top charge, court records reviewed by Greater Long Island show.
John Ankelman, 58, is set to be arraigned on the indictment on March 11 in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead. The new charges are a significant escalation from the single DWI charge that had kept the case in Suffolk County District Court in Central Islip ever since the Dec. 26 crash. Ankelman remains free under non-monetary conditions.
The unsealed indictment lists 11 counts in total. The top charge — second-degree aggravated vehicular homicide — stems from Ankelman’s blood alcohol content, which was .18 percent or above (more than twice the legal limit), court records indicate. It carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Ankelman, a divorced father of four adult children, is also charged with second-degree aggravated vehicular homicide based on a prior conviction. This charge indicates the defendant has a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated or impaired.
Additionally, Ankelman is charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and aggravated DWI, among several other charges.
Ankelman’s attorney Steven Politi told Greater Long Island on Saturday that he had not yet received a copy of the indictment and was reserving deeper comment until he could review it. This, he said, includes seeing the specific laws under which Ankelman was charged and reading over the grand jury minutes.
“It’s difficult for me to comment on something that I haven’t been furnished with,” Politi said.
The defense attorney did push back on one count specifically. The charge alleging a prior drunk driving conviction, Politi said flatly, is wrong.
“He has no prior DWI conviction,” Politi said. “I don’t know why they would put that in.”
Politi has experience in high-profile DWI cases, including his representation of Thomas Murphy, the Holbrook man convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide in the 2018 DWI death of 12-year-old Boy Scout Andrew McMorris in Manorville.
Murphy was sentenced to the maximum of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison — a conviction that survived a subsequent appeal.
Ankelman will ‘vigorously fight’ charges
Politi said Ankelman, who grew up in Levittown, graduated from Division Avenue High School and attended Hofstra University, maintains his innocence across all charges and intends to “vigorously fight” them.
“He’s a wonderful person,” Politi said of Ankelman. “He’s loved by his family, his children and his friends. Whatever the court tells him to do, he’s going to do.”
At a previous Suffolk District Court appearance in the case on Feb. 13, the defense argued unsuccessfully against the suspension of Ankelman’s license.
The case is being prosecuted by the Queens District Attorney’s Office due to a conflict of interest in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Reached Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Queens DA’s office declined to comment on Ankelman’s upcoming arraignment.
Army veteran was on his way home from work
Ankelman is accused of striking Gonzalez’s Toyota Tacoma head-on on Pinelawn Road in Melville about 10 p.m. on Dec. 26. Gonzalez, 63, a U.S. Army veteran and hospital security guard who was widely described as a devoted family man and respected member of his Brentwood community, was on his way home from work. He was rushed to the hospital and died 10 days later after being removed from life support.
For Gonzalez’s family, the indictment brings a measure of relief — but also the weight of what lies ahead. His younger brother, Louis Gonzalez, told Greater Long Island that he and his family plan to be in Riverhead for every court date.
A brother’s constant sadness
“I’m happy that it’s moved to Riverhead and me and my family members will be there,” said Louis Gonzalez, who attended the Feb. 13 court appearance, where he saw Ankelman in person for the first time. “But it’s the end of this — justice for Nelson — I’m worried about.
“I just have to wait till the end, when it’s over, and what the outcome is going to be for John Ankelman,” he continued. “I just hope and pray that justice for Nelson is the right justice. [He was a] veteran, hard worker, never got in trouble, funny guy, very social, heartwarming. He’s really missed.
“Every night I go to sleep, I have tears in my eyes.”
Top: Defendant John Ankelman of Woodbury (Facebook/John Ankelman) and the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Court Complex in Riverhead (Google Maps Street View).
