Wednesday, October 7, 2026
A Babylon man has pleaded guilty to charges connected to a hit-and-run that occurred in Freeport earlier this year. The incident resulted in the death of a 66-year-old man.
Michael Bonner, 41, pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 before Judge Caryn Fink to charges of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting resulting in a death and tampering with physical evidence. Bonner previously pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned before the same judge in April.
Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez was allegedly struck by Bonner's vehicle, a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban, as he was crossing East Merrick Road near South Main Street in Freeport at about 8 p.m. on March 25. The vehicle was uninsured and unregistered. Despite being transported to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital shortly after the hit-and-run, Lopez died from his injuries on April 3.
Bonner continued driving, allegedly tried to remove stickers from his vehicle that would make it more easily identifiable and then fled to the Carolinas. He was detected by local law enforcement when he re-entered New York on March 28, and was later pulled over and arrest by Hempstead Police officers and the Nassau County Police Department on April 4.
Bonner is due back in court on Dec. 10, and is expected to face a sentence of one to three years in prison. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and her office is recommending a harsher penalty of two to six years in prison.
"Michael Bonner struck Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez in the crosswalk and heartlessly left him to die in the street," Donelly said. "The defendant methodically attempted to cover his tracks and fled the state, leaving a grieving family behind to pick up the pieces. Today's guilty plea makes it clear that no one can run from their crimes in Nassau County."
Surveillance cameras at a 7-Eleven on Sunrise Highway in Oceanside place Bonner and his car less than half a mile from the scene of the hit-and-run four minutes before it occurred. Cell phone data later obtained by the Nassau County Police Department also place Bonner at the scene of the hit-and-run at the time of the crash.
At some point on the night of the crash, detectives say that Bonner removed the large, red sticker from his vehicle's rear windshield before fleeing the state.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistatn District Attorney Nicole Vota of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau of Nassau County. Bonner is represented by Raymond Baierlein, Esq.
