Up to 25 Years in Prison for Driver in Case that Galvanized Cashless Bail Opponents

It was a case that galvanized opposition against the state’s lax new bail laws: A drunk driver with a string of DWI convictions was going 137 miles per hour before plowing into another motorist, killing him, only to be released a short time later with no bail.

Jordan Randolph, 43, was driving on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley with a suspended license and three prior DWI convictions on his record when he killed Jonathan Flores-Maldonado. He was supposed to have an interlock anti-DWI device on his vehicle because of his previous convictions. A few hours before the 2020 crash, he had gotten into a fight at Jake’s 58 Casino, having been in court two days prior on a previous DWI case.

The Bellport man was sentenced to 12½ to 25 years in prison by Supreme Court Judge Richard Ambro following a February trial where he was convicted of 13 charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide.

“This drunk driver should have been in jail, not back on the street,” said Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano, who had accompanied Flores-Maldonado’s father, Victor, at various events to lobby for the repeal of the bail laws. “Ever since cashless bail was inflicted on the law-abiding citizens of New York, we’ve suffered a crime wave destroying the lives of many. This sentence comes as no condolence to Jonathan’s family and the New Yorkers who have to live with these ridiculous pro-criminal laws.”

“For my son and my family, the bail reform bill was a catastrophic failure,” said Victor Flores-Maldonado. “It is unfortunate that even after this, the legislative branch does not concentrate more on the victims instead of the criminals.” His son, 23 at the time of his death, had dreamed of becoming a doctor.

During his trial, it was revealed that after he left the casino, Randolph was spotted by police driving his Cadillac erratically down the rain-soaked William Floyd Parkway, where an officer attempted to stop him. While he was trying to evade the police, his vehicle struck the rear of Flores-Maldonado’s Ford Escape with the force of a “missile,” prosecutors said, flipping it and forcing it over 500 feet down the highway. A report from a toxicology expert testified that Randolph’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit more than two hours after the crash.

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“This defendant is a serial drunk driver who had no regard for anyone’s life, including his own,” said Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “The fact that he was able to be out on the street with a pending charge for not using a court mandated ignition interlock device before driving is beyond comprehensible. The entire purpose of an ignition interlock device is to keep drunk drivers off the road. I hope this lengthy prison sentence provides the victim’s family with some measure of justice after such a senseless and avoidable crime.”

Randolph struggled with responding officers as they tried to place him under arrest, and hurled profanities at EMT workers who were attempting to treat him, according to the district attorney. He refused to submit to a blood test, but a court order was secured by law enforcement which compelled the defendant to provide a blood sample. That sample, which was collected five hours after the crash, showed Randolph’s blood alcohol concentration was a .20% BAC – more than double the legal limit. A search warrant was also obtained for blood that the defendant provided at Long Island Community Hospital approximately two hours after the crash. The results showed Randolph’s blood alcohol concentration was .23% – almost triple the legal limit. A search of the event data recorder in Randolph’s vehicle revealed that he was traveling 137 mph seconds before crashing into the victim, who was driving 45 mph, according to Tierney.

Randolph has a lengthy criminal history that includes 12 prior criminal convictions, six of which are felonies, and multiple prior felony and misdemeanor DWI convictions, according to police records. He was convicted of felony Driving While Intoxicated in both 2016 and 2018, and misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated in 2011. Additionally, in 2003, he was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison for felony Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in or Near School Grounds. He also has prior convictions for felony assault from 1998, and attempted robbery from 1997.

“Jonathan Flores-Maldonado was the very first victim of Bail Reform,” noted Jennifer Harrison, with Victims Rights NY. “Over 305 homicide victims later nothing is getting better, only ‘progressively’ worse. I pray today’s sentence brings Jonathan’s family some sense of justice. While nothing will bring this young man with his entire life ahead of him back, we can do even better by him by repealing bail reform and making sure this does not happen to anymore families.”