Judge sets hearing to reconsider trucker’s 110-year sentence

Posted at 4:47 PM, December 27, 2021 and last updated 6:55 PM, July 7, 2023

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A truck driver sentenced to 110 years for an explosive crash that killed four people in suburban Denver moved a step closer Monday to potentially having his prison term reduced.

Judge Bruce Jones scheduled a hearing for Jan. 13 to reconsider Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence following widespread outrage over the severity of his punishment and an unusual request by prosecutors to revisit the matter.

Rogel-Aguilera-Mederos

People hold signs in support of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos during a rally on the west steps of the state capitol Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 in Denver. Relatives, lawmakers and other supporters of a trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison after an explosive brake-failure accident that left four people dead rallied in Denver to plead for clemency. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP)

During a virtual hearing to discuss the request, one of Aguilera-Mederos’ lawyers, James Colgan, said the defense needed some time to do research to see if there were any similar cases that could help guide its approach.

Jones said he wanted to learn more about whether the law that allowed him to reconsider the sentence gave him discretion to set whatever sentence he wanted.

He said victims would be able to speak at the in-person hearing about whether Aguilera-Mederos should be resentenced. But he noted he did not want them to go through that stress unless they wished to.

“I am a captive audience if they want to speak to me,” he said.

Around 5 million people have signed an online petition seeking clemency for Aguilera-Mederos. In addition to the prosecution’s request to lower the sentence, Aguilera-Mederos has requested clemency from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Last week, District Attorney Alexis King  said in a statement she would seek a term of 20 to 30 years in the 2019 wreck on Interstate 70 west of Denver. She said that sentencing range reflects an “appropriate outcome” for Aguilera-Mederos’ conduct.

“As the jury found, Mr. Aguilera-Mederos knowingly made multiple active choices that resulted in the death of four people, serious injuries to others, and mass destruction,” King said.

Jones imposed the 110-year sentence against Aguilera-Mederos on Dec. 13 after finding it was the mandatory minimum term set forth under state law.

“I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,” the judge said during the hearing.

Leonard Martinez, another lawyer for Aguilera-Mederos, has said the district attorney’s new requested sentencing range is not consistent with similar cases in Colorado and the United States.

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Domingo Garcia, National president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) speaks during an impromptu news conference after a rally on the west steps of the state capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 in Denver. Also in the photo are from left to right Yoel Varela, with TAS USA, Garcia, Leonard Martinez, Aguilera-Mederos’ attorney, Oslaida Mederos, second from right, Aguilera-Mederos’ mother, center, and Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, right. Relatives, lawmakers and other supporters of a trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison after an explosive brake-failure accident that left four people dead rallied in Denver to plead for clemency. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP)

Colorado law allows for sentences for crimes deemed violent to be modified in cases with “unusual and extenuating circumstances,” but those sentences cannot take effect until 119 days after a person enters prison. King and defense lawyers believe Jones can impose a new, reduced sentence before that and have it take effect later.

Aguilera-Mederos  testified that he was hauling lumber when the brakes on his semitrailer failed  as he was descending a steep grade of Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountain foothills on April 25, 2019. His truck plowed into vehicles that had slowed because of another wreck, setting off a chain-reaction wreck and a fireball that consumed vehicles and melted parts of the highway.

He wept as he apologized to the victims’ families at his Dec. 13 sentencing.

“When I look at my charges, we are talking about a murderer, which is not me,” he said. “I have never thought about hurting anybody in my entire life.”

Prosecutors argued he should have used a runaway ramp designed for such situations. Aguilera-Mederos, for his part, said he was struggling to avoid traffic and trying to shift to slow down.

The crash killed 24-year-old Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 67-year-old William Bailey, 61-year-old Doyle Harrison and 69-year-old Stanley Politano. Relatives of victims supported at least some prison time at his sentencing hearing.

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