Colorado governor cuts 110-year sentence for truck driver in homicide-driving case

Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos appears in a Lakewood Police reservation photo after being arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of homicide at the wheel following an accident on I-70 in Lakewood, Colorado, United States United, April 26, 2019. Lakewood Police Department / Document via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY / File Photo

DENVER, Dec. 30 (Reuters) – Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Thursday commuted the 110-year sentence for a truck driver convicted of driving homicide, reducing the jail term to 10 years after prosecutors returned to court this week in a rare move asking for leniency.

In a switching letter to Cuban-born trucker Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 26, the governor said the fiery crash along a mountain highway that killed four motorists in April 2019 was a ” tragic but unintentional act “.

“While you are not blameless, your sentence is disproportionate to many other inmates in our criminal justice system who have committed intentional, premeditated or violent crimes,” the letter reads.

Aguilera-Mederos will now be eligible for parole in five years, the governor said.

Aguilera-Mederos lawyer James Colgan said his client was happy with the news. “He’s relieved and very grateful,” Colgan said.

A message left with District Attorney Alexis King was not immediately returned.

King went to court on Monday for a hearing asking that the 110-year sentence, imposed earlier this month, be reduced to a prison term of 20 to 30 years, arguing that greater leniency was warranted in a high profile case. that prosecutors said there was no criminal intent.

Keith Coffman reporting in Denver; Editing by Steve Gorman, Chris Reese and Grant McCool

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