Judge schedules hearing to consider shortening trucker's 110-year prison sentence
A judge has scheduled a resentencing hearing for Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver sentenced to 110 years in prison for a 2019 crash that left four dead and several others injured near Denver.
Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was convicted of 27 charges, including vehicular homicide. Under minimum sentencing laws, he was sentenced to 110 years in prison. Nearly 5 million people have signed a petition calling on Colorado Governor Jared Polis to grant clemency for Aguilera-Mederos.
Alexis King, the district attorney in Jefferson County, made the request for the hearing on Monday and asked the judge to lower the sentence to 20 to 30 years.
Judge Bruce Jones, who imposed the initial sentence, scheduled the new hearing for 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, January 13. The judge questioned how much discretion he has in the resentencing.
"I'm concerned about turning this thing into a circus and it will not be a circus, as far as I'm concerned," Jones said. "Any outbursts will result in the immediate removal of that person from the courtroom."
The judge said he will not hear from anyone on the defense's side, other than counsel. He is willing to hear from victims impacted by the crash — if they choose to. "I'll hear them out if they want to speak to me," he said. "They don't have to put themselves through that stress again."
Jones would prefer to hold the hearing in person but said he wants it to be available online. "I'm anticipating doing it in person unless COVID changes my mind," he said.
Aguilera-Mederos said his brakes malfunctioned while he was driving on Interstate 70. But videos show he may have missed a runaway truck ramp along the highway where prosecutors say he could have pulled off.
The crash killed Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; Doyle Harrison, 61; Stanley Politano, 69; and William Bailey, 67.
Gage Evans, the wife of Bailey, who died in the crash, said sentencing laws should be reviewed but the sentence should not be commuted. "He was found guilty of reckless behavior that killed my husband that was the most important thing to me," Evans said.
This story originally appeared in CBS Denver.
