On December 21, 2022, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Braslow sentenced a Mattituck man to 4 to 12 years in prison for driving drunk in a February 2021 crash that killed a pedestrian in Riverhead.
The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office alleged that Nemschick, who in May, 2022, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and six other grand jury charges, was speeding and swerving down West Main Street before striking 38-year-old Alexander Lopez Guzman shortly after 10 p.m. on Feb. 11, 2021. Prior to Nemschick’ s plea, the DA had recommended a plea deal of 6-18 years in state prison. Nemschick faced faced up to 25 years in prison on the top charge.
Judge Braslow told Matthew Nemschick, 56, he was showing leniency despite two prior DWI convictions, since he had made great strides in treating his alcohol addiction while behind bars since last year.
Defense attorney John Gill of Northport said he discussed with Judge Braslow the efforts Nemschick made in his addiction recovery while he remained at the county jail awaiting the outcome of his case. Gill said Judge Braslow had a difficult decision to make to reduce the sentence.
“You’re balancing competing interests in a case like this because you have a family of the deceased and you have a horrific crime and the Judge is balancing that against the character of a man who appears to have taken advantage of a second chance,” Gill said.
To learn more, click on the Newsday link for this article (https://www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/fatal-riverhead-pedestrian-matthew-nemschick-x3s3j1qk).