In a case inflaming tensions on both sides of the immigration debate, a 19-year-old Guatemalan migrant has been released from custody after charges were shockingly dropped relating to the death of a Florida police sergeant he struggled with during an arrest last year.
Virgilio Aguilar Mendez’s surprise release on Friday after nearly 10 months behind bars has sparked outrage from those who view it as a miscarriage of justice allowing someone to escape accountability for killing a law enforcement officer. However, his lawyers and advocates argue the decision was just given concerns over the teen’s mental capacity and inability to understand the circumstances due to a profound language barrier.
Video of Aguilar Mendez walking free hit social media courtesy of his attorney Phillip Arroyo, who trumpeted the moment by declaring “Virgilio Aguilar finally FREE! God is great” as the grinning teen emerged from detention.
The inflammatory case began on May 19, 2023 when St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Michael Kunovich, 52, approached Aguilar Mendez on suspicion of criminal activity as the Guatemalan national was strolling and conversing with his mother. Despite Kunovich’s attempts to question him, Aguilar Mendez continued walking away, prompting the officer to pursue him.
What happened next remains clouded in confusion and controversy. Police recount a struggle ensuing as Kunovich tried to arrest Aguilar Mendez, with the migrant allegedly resisting as other deputies responded and used tasers before handcuffing him. At one point a small pocketknife was reportedly involved, though precisely what threat if any it posed remains unclear.
The already chaotic situation took a tragic turn when Kunovich went into medical distress amid the melee and later died. In the aftermath, Aguilar Mendez was charged with aggravated manslaughter of an officer.
However, the charges were abruptly dismissed last month, with the state attorney’s office citing “expert testimony” that Aguilar Mendez could not understand English and had potential intellectual disabilities that raised “significant issues to consider in the case.
The dismissal has outraged many who view the young migrant as having directly caused Kunovich’s death through his actions, irrespective of comprehension issues. They argue his very presence in the country illegally was the root problem that should have been prevented through tougher immigration enforcement.
“He shouldn’t have even been here in the first place,” blasted Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “If he was turned over to ICE for removal proceedings after his first violation, this never happens. It’s tragic injustice.”
Others have gone further in denouncing the dismissal as a politically-correct abrogation of accountability that allows criminals to exploit linguistic barriers as a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“It’s a terrible precedent that effectively tells illegal aliens – come on in, commit whatever crimes you want, then just plead ignorance of the language,” said Rick Rathun, director of the American Patrol pro-enforcement group. “It’s an insult to Sgt. Kunovich’s heroic service and allows his killer to walk free in an undeserved triumph of stupidity over public safety.”
Yet Aguilar Mendez’s defenders insist he lacked any malicious intent, arguing the teen was simply overwhelmed by a confounding situation made exponentially more difficult by significant cultural and cognitive barriers in understanding what was happening.
“He’s a scared kid from an indigenous community who got caught up in a chaotic encounter he clearly couldn’t comprehend,” said Linda Barrera, an immigrant advocate who assisted the defense. “Imagine how terrifying it would be as a mentally-challenged foreigner with no grasp of English to suddenly have numerous police officers attacking and tasing you without any ability to understand their demands.”
Baez, one of Aguilar Mendez’s lawyers, said the dismissal reflected the lack of evidence his client intended any harm and prosecutors ultimately had an insufficient case due to the circumstances. “This was just a tragic situation of misunderstandings compounded by communication and cultural gaps that spun out of control,” he stated.
The aunt who helped raise Aguilar Mendez expressed relief that her nephew avoided conviction, saying through a translator: “We’re so grateful he’s finally free and can start putting this awful nightmare behind him. He never meant any harm to anyone.”
With immigration sure to be a flashpoint in the 2024 elections, the case seems destined to reverberate as a political bombshell infuriating those demanding stricter control of illegal immigration. Yet others will hold it up as a measure of justice for someone caught in circumstances they couldn’t comprehend, avoiding unjust persecution.
Whichever side prevails in the court of public opinion, the tragic conflict has already become the latest bellwether in the larger social reckoning playing out across America over its future as a nation of immigrants.
