Latino community outraged after prosecutor in Rogel Aguilera-Mederos case mocks results on social media

The Latino community is in an uproar over a social media post made by a Colorado prosecutor who appears to have celebrated the conviction of Rogel Aguilera-Mederos after he lost control of his semi’s brakes coming down the mountain on I-70, killing four people and leaving six injured.

According to the Denver Channel, Kayla Wildeman, a deputy district attorney with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, posted a picture of a brake shoe from a semitrailer with the case number and her name printed on a placard affixed to the brake to her personal Facebook page.

The controversial post accompanying the picture read, “Get yourself a trial partner as great as Trevor Moritzky. He turned a brake shoe from a semi-truck into a memento. What a special gift from truly a special person. I never asked for a new bff at work, let alone one that is old enough to be my father (no offense) but I sure am grateful this trial brought you into my career as both a colleague and a friend! Words will never convey how lucky I am to have gotten the opportunity to learn from you!”

Moritzky is the senior deputy district attorney who worked with Wildeman in the prosecution of Cuban-born Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver who lost control of his semi’s brakes before crashing into traffic at the Colorado Mills Parkway overpass.

Since the post was brought to light, First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King said Wildeman’s post was in “very poor taste" and assured reporters the brake was not from the Aguilera-Mederos case.

“It is not a piece of evidence from the case. The post was in very poor taste and does not reflect the values of my administration. We have addressed it internally,” King wrote.

Nevertheless, Latino civil rights organizations have called for "immediate disciplinary action and a formal apology" for the wildly inappropriate post.

“To say we are disgusted over this so-called trophy is an understatement. LULAC demands a full investigation into the matter to identify the people who are involved so that they face the maximum disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal," said Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president. "To mock the seriousness of this case diminishes the loss of four lives as well as the pain suffered by everyone affected by this tragedy. This trophy is evidence of the total lack of respect and basic human decency by the district attorney and her team in this matter. They are dancing on the graves of the victims and showing their glee that a man faces a sentence equal to three generations in an unjust verdict. Professionalism is clearly lacking in this District Attorney's office.”

Aguilera-Mederos' attorney, Leonard Martinez, also called for disciplinary action, saying, “To make any kind of mockery or behave as if this was a ball game of winning and losing is an outrage. This was about four people losing their lives and another person facing the prospect of a 110-year prison sentence"

"It is very disappointing but not surprising that the district attorney in this case would allow this to happen given the background of this matter, the legal process itself and the way my client was treated," he added.

On Oct. 15, a jury convicted Aguilera-Mederos of vehicular homicide, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, reckless driving and careless driving. Later, on Dec. 13, Judge A. Bruce Jones sentenced the 26-year-old to 110 years in prison – a term twice as long as some Colorado murderers, according to the Colorado Sun.

Since the sentencing, more than 4.5 million people have signed a change.org petition calling for Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence to be commuted or for the governor to issue a pardon. Similarly, truck drivers took to social media to call for a trucking boycott of Colorado.

One TikToker said, “this truck is no longer going to Colorado. We want justice for Rogel Aguilera. Truckers he needs our help.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ultimately has discretion on a possible commutation. Although several legal groups are preparing a petition to send to his office, Polis’ staff has noted that while the governor would “welcome an application from Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos and will expedite consideration,” his office has “not received one yet at this time."