Dozens of friends and family members of George Gibbons crowded into a courtroom Friday, waiting for the man accused of killing the Maspeth bar owner while driving drunk.
They only waited inside for a few minutes though. The sole action taken was to push the hearing back to Jan. 12 without the defendant even being present.
The lawyer for Peter Rodriguez—the man allegedly driving drunk in the hit-and-run head-on collision in October—had been assigned just that morning and hadn’t yet read the criminal complaint, Brendan Gibbons, George’s brother, said after meeting with the District Attorney assigned to the case.
Nevertheless, at least 30 people sat with the Gibbons during the short hearing.
“It was 15 seconds, but they still came to support us,” Brendan said.
George Gibbons was killed after closing his bar, Gibbons’ Home, on the morning of Oct. 15. He was riding in a livery cab on the Long Island Expressway service road near 58th Street when a Chrysler Sebring going the wrong direction struck the cab, killing Gibbons, and injuring the cab driver and a passenger in the Sebring.
The driver of the Sebring, who police later identified as Rodriguez, fled the scene, sparking a month-long hunt that ended in Connecticut when U.S Marshals captured him on Nov. 15.
During the 30 days prior, George’s family, lo- cal politicians and neighbors in Maspeth pooled money to offer a $10,000 reward for tips leading to Rodriguez’s capture. They also plastered Queens with flyers advertising the reward.
For weeks, it was nearly impossible to pass through Maspeth or Middle Village without seeing a picture of the alleged killer.
Rodriguez has a known criminal past including multiple felonies. He is being held without bail while facing up to 15 years in prison for second-degree manslaughter, second- and third-degree assault, criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of leaving the scene of a crime without reporting it.
George’s father, George Sr., missed Rodriguez’s original arraignment on Nov. 16. Friday was going to be the first chance for him to face the man who allegedly killed his son, and he was visibly disappointed at how short the hearing was.
“That was quick,” he said. But he took solace in the fact the only place Rodriguez would be other than the courtroom was in custody through the holidays, “eating turkey [on the] inside for Christmas,” he said.
Rodriguez’s next scheduled hearing is Jan. 13 in Queens Criminal Court.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
