A Colorado judge will in January reconsider the 110-year prison sentence for the truck driver who killed four people when he crashed into stopped traffic on Interstate 70 more than two years ago.
District Court Judge Bruce Jones scheduled a hearing for January 13 to reconsider 26-year-old Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ prison term, a lengthy mandatory minimum sentence that raised widespread outrage. In the two weeks since the sentencing, nearly 5 million people signed an online petition calling for the prison term to be shortened, and Gov. Jared Polis said he would expedite consideration of Aguilera-Mederos’ petition for clemency.
When Jones imposed the 110-year sentence on Dec. 13, he said was doing so only because he was compelled to by law, and suggested he was open to reducing the prison term through a future hearing.
In an unusual move, that resentencing hearing was requested by First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King, who pursued the charges that ensured Aguilera-Mederos would spend decades in prison if convicted. Jones on Monday said the prosecution’s request was without precedent — such hearings are usually called for by the defense or the judge.
“The people have done things under this statute that I don’t see any precedent for,” he said. He asked both sides to research and submit to the court the proper procedure and scope for the re-sentencing hearing by January 10.
Jones said family members of those killed in the crash are welcome to speak at the resentencing hearing, but do not have to do so. He noted how difficult the first sentencing was for many of the victims.
“I don’t want to put anybody through that again,” he said. “I don’t want to put myself through that again. But I will hear them out if they want to speak to me. But they don’t have to do that.”
Jones also said he doesn’t want January’s hearing to become a “circus,” and said outbursts from anyone would result in immediate removal from the courtroom.
During Monday’s hearing, King told the judge she recommended a new sentence of between 20 and 30 years for Aguilera-Mederos, a stance she took publicly last week. The trucker’s defense attorney, James Colgan, said last week he believes Aguilera-Mederos should walk free immediately.
“This is an exceptional case, and it requires an exceptional process,” King said Monday. She declined to answer questions from reporters; a spokesman cited the ongoing case as the reason she refused to take any questions.
Aguilera-Mederos was hauling a full load of lumber from Wyoming to Texas when he crashed under an overpass in Lakewood on April 25, 2019, killing four people and injuring others. A jury convicted him of 27 charges in October, including 16 counts of first-degree assault and attempted assault, which carry mandatory consecutive sentences under Colorado law.
The inexperienced trucker was seen driving recklessly hours before the crash, prosecutors said during his trial. A couple reported that a truck hauling lumber with Texas plates sped by them in a no-passing zone in Rand and nearly ran them off the road that day. Aguilera-Mederos also passed at least one runaway truck ramp after he lost his brakes. The trucker realized he had a problem with his brakes after coming over Berthoud Pass, prosecutors said, but decided to keep driving anyway.
Aguilera-Mederos has maintained that the crash was an unavoidable accident and argued during trial that he was overwhelmed by circumstances outside of his control.
