Following a nationwide petition and celebrity attention, a Guatemalan farmworker was acquitted of heart attack murdering a Florida sheriff's officer.
Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit state attorney argued Friday to drop Aguilar Mendez's charges. Expert testimony on Aguilar Mendez's inability to speak English, cultural background, and intellectual aptitude raised concerns, according to prosecutor R.J. Larizza. A judge ruled Aguilar Mendez unable to stand trial based on expert testimony.
After many minutes of fighting to apprehend Aguilar Mendez, St. Johns County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Kunovich died of a heart attack. Kunovich left Aguilar Mendez chained on the ground. After his arrest, documents say he collapsed on a curb minutes later.
After seeing the video, Aguilar Mendez's civil attorney, Phillip Arroyo, said police wrongdoing caused the arrest and should never have happened. Arroyo said body camera evidence showed his client, who speaks Mam, a Guatemalan indigenous language, didn't understand the officer's orders.
Over 600,000 Change.org petitioners demanded his freedom. Arroyo stated Kim Kardashian's social media aided Aguilar Mendez. Monday saw Aguilar Mendez in ICE custody. Arroyo, who filed a civil rights case on Feb. 23, said his attorneys had requested his release and were awaiting agency response. Aguilar Mendez was charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter of an officer, a life sentence, and third-degree resisting an officer with violence, a five-year sentence.
We think the prosecutor dropped the case because the facts and bodycam evidence indicated the Sheriff lied to the media and had no case. Knowing the claims were baseless and would fail in court "Arroyo email. St. John County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said Aguilar Mendez was trespassing and arrested properly at a news conference last May. No trespassing charge was made.
ICE pulled up Aguilar Mendez from St. Johns County Jail for Baker County, Florida, one hour after charges were dismissed, according to Arroyo. The transfer was unknown to Arroyo before the charges were dropped. “Luckily our team had already filed a motion through immigration attorney Henry Lim to release Virgilio from ICE custody and there is no deportation removal order,” Arroyo said.
Sheriff's office criticized dropping charges, saying Aguilar Mendez is a "illegal alien" who killed Kunovich despite "lawful efforts to detain him". Hardwick termed Kunovich heroic, First Coast News reported. “Some have blamed Sergeant Kunovich and victimized Aguilar Mendez. Hardwick supported Sgt. Kunovich's May 19, 2023 actions. He labeled Kunovich a hero for protecting St. Johns County people.
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