Colorado prosecutors say reduction of Cuban-trucker's 110-year sentence is hurting other cases

The reduction of Cuban-born Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ 110-year prison sentence to 10 years by Colorado’s governor is purportedly hurting prosecutors’ efforts to negotiate sentences in other cases, according to two Colorado district attorneys.

According to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, Gov. Jared Polis’ Dec. 30 commutation of the trucker’s sentence was "unprecedented, premature and unwarranted" because Rogel Aguilera-Mederos' case was still active and a judge was scheduled to review a prosecutor's request to reduce the sentence.

In a Jan. 20 letter, the district attorneys told Polis that his decision "is having a substantial ripple effect" on other cases, The Denver Post reported on Wednesday.

"Sentences should be influenced by the facts and circumstances, not by petitions, online surveys or tweets," they said, referring to a viral online push to reduce the Cuban-born trucker’s sentence.

Dougherty and Rubinstein argued that the decision affected prosecutors' efforts to reach an eight-year sentence in a recent Boulder County sexual assault case, saying the defendant's attorney objected that eight years was excessive in light of Aguilera-Mederos' 10-year sentence.

Dougherty further told The Post that he and Rubinstein met with the governor after sending the letter and he and his colleague "are optimistic that our concerns were understood and that what happened in that case was an exception."

Polis’ spokesman, Conor Cahill, said the governor reduced the trucker's sentence because "there was clearly an urgency to remedy this sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system."

A hearing was scheduled for January, however, to reconsider the sentence at the request of District Attorney Alexis King, who had planned to ask that it be reduced to 20 to 30 years.

More than 5 million people signed an online petition seeking clemency for Aguilera-Mederos, who was convicted of vehicular homicide and other charges in the deadly 2019 pileup.

Judge Bruce Jones imposed a 110-year sentence on Dec. 13 after finding it was the mandatory minimum term set forth under state law, noting it would not have been his choice.