Local attorney weighs in on options for trucker facing 110-year sentence
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As public outrage grows over the 110-year sentence handed down to a 26-year-old truck driver, a local attorney is weighing in on what the man's options look like.
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos slammed his semi-truck into stopped traffic on I-70 back in April of 2019. Four people died in the fiery crash.
A jury convicted Aguilera-Mederos on 27 counts in October, ultimately deciding that he caused the crash by making poor decisions, like avoiding a runaway truck ramp when his brakes stopped working.
In December, a judge reluctantly sentenced Aguilera-Mederos to his minimum possible sentence -- 110 years. Nearly five million people have signed a petition since asking for clemency or a lesser sentence. The District Attorney's Office even filed a motion, following the public outcry, asking the judge to reconsider the sentence on "extenuating circumstances".
KRDO's Sydnee Stelle spoke to Colorado defense attorney Jeremy Loew, of Loew Law Offices, about the case and what Aguilera-Moderos is facing.
KRDO: How do you think the public outcry has impacted the District Attorney's Office's actions in this case?
Loew: The District Attorney's Office in this case, clearly overcharged the case. They didn't need to charge first-degree assault, which is essentially the equivalent of charging somebody with shooting somebody with a gun… and having caused serious bodily injury. Now that there's a public outcry, they're being very disingenuous and saying, 'well judge, you can reconsider the sentence.' The problem is that they should have reconsidered what they charged prior to go into trial. If they thought that this individual shouldn't receive the sentence that he received, then don't put him on trial on charges that carry mandatory minimum sentences.
KRDO: In this case, could the judge have sentenced him to anything less than 110 years?
Loew: The judge sentenced him at the minimum possible, the judge said on the record, that he wished he didn't have to sentence this individual to the sentence that he did. I mean, the District Attorney's Office knew very well what they were doing, and what the outcome would be, if they were going to win their trial. 110 years was what he was looking at if the District Attorney's Office won, and that's what happened.
KRDO: Is the jury allowed to consider sentencing when deciding the verdict?
Loew: The jury doesn't get to consider sentencing, the jury doesn't get to know what the possible sentence is on a case. So, a jury very well may have not convicted him, if they knew that he was going to be looking at 110 years in prison. We have cases in this jurisdiction that result in death due to auto accidents all of the time, a more appropriate charge would have been "careless driving causing death", where his actions as a careless driver cause the death of somebody, or even "vehicular homicide", which is a sentence that carries two to six years in prison. Sometimes, it can carry four to 12 years. What they did is they charged him with crimes of violence, the equivalent of trying to kill somebody with a gun, like knowingly and intentionally trying to hurt somebody. So, what they charged him with was totally out of bounds, and it was a complete overcharge by the District Attorney's Office."
KRDO: Why would a district attorney's office overcharge like that in the first place?
Loew: So, there's a couple reasons. One, we often see that the District Attorney's Offices overcharge people in an attempt to have plea negotiations down to what they feel is necessary in a case. It's a complete travesty in the justice system, that the District Attorney's Office can charge with whatever they want, and the sentencing is taken out of the judge's hands-on mandatory minimum sentences.
So, the District Attorney's Office knew that for every victim, this individual was looking at 10 to 32 years, or, you know, 16 to 48 years, based upon the charge, and the judge had no sentencing discretion. My understanding is the defense attorney didn't want to engage in plea negotiations. With that being said, if you're looking at sending somebody to prison for a car accident, albeit a very tragic car accident, it's hard to justify engaging in negotiations, even though your client is looking at 110 years.
KRDO: At this point, what are Aguilera-Mederos's options?
Loew: There are three options. One, the case can go up on appeal. The appellate court can't necessarily say that the sentence is illegal because it's not illegal. They could potentially say that it's cruel and unusual punishment. Given what the acts were, however, the way it was charged in the conviction itself, for the crimes of violence, it'd be really difficult for them to say that it's cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution, so that really leaves us with two options.
Option one is Governor Polis has the ability to pardon or commute the sentences for the driver. So, he can come in and say, 'I'm going to pardon you on some of these. I'm going to commute some of the sentences on that.' The governor really has a lot of power in this case.
The other option is, the trial court judge, under a very obscure statute has the ability to, after 120 days, and [with] the Department of Corrections doing an evaluation can reduce the sentence all the way down to a probationary sentence on a crime of violence, and on a noncrime of violence. His attorneys can file what's called a 35 be a sentence reconsideration. And the judge could reconsider the sentence as well.
KRDO: Aguilera-Mederos is a person of color who used an interpreter throughout the legal process and speaks limited English. How do you think that factored into this outcome?
Loew: We absolutely see it all the time that there's a disparity in sentencing between minorities and Caucasian defendants, it's not uncommon at all. There's been study after study after study that individuals who are minorities absolutely have a disparity in their sentencing. I can't say in this case that that's what happened, but what I can say is, it wouldn't be shocking if it did.
