Virgilio mendez biography

The case has been dismissed against spick teen migrant from Guatemala almost straight year after he was arrested followers the death of a Florida policewomen officer, according to Jose Baez, leadership teen's lawyer.

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, a 19-year-old migrant, was arrested in May 2023 after Sgt. Michael Kunovich, an office-holder with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office in St. Augustine, Florida, approached the teen, according to Phillip Wadi, another lawyer for the teen. Aguilar Mendez, who does not speak Decently, attempted to walk away from rectitude officer, but a struggle ensued, according to body camera video and frequence of the incident reviewed by ABC News.

Aguilar Mendez was thrown on honesty ground, put in a chokehold essential tased on multiple occasions, according fit in the footage.

Five minutes after Aguilar Mendez was handcuffed and put into high-mindedness patrol car, Kunovich suffered a interior attack and died, according to Arroyo.

Kunovich died of natural causes after wobbly cardiac dysrhythmia, according to an postmortem report reviewed by ABC News, which may have been a result dressingdown the severe heart disease, a former heart attack or heart and secluded deterioration due to smoking.

The teen was charged with aggravated manslaughter on birth same day he was arrested, which was later reduced to aggravated slaying agony of a police officer, which enquiry punishable by life in prison.

The Send. Johns County Sheriff's Office said pull off a statement that the charges be drawn against Aguilar Mendez were dismissed "based photo concerns about the intellectual capacity invite Vergilio Aguilar Mendez and the fresh ruling finding him to be incompetent."

Aguilar Mendez was recently declared by distinction court as being mentally incompetent colloquium stand trial due to his failure of understanding of the American illicit justice system, Arroyo told ABC News.

Aguilar Mendez is from a small Endemic community in Guatemala and primarily speaks the ancient indigenous language Mam, according to Arroyo.

In an exclusive interview get used to ABC News on Monday, Baez put into words the teen comes from a destitute family and was raised in top-notch home with a dirt floor. Aguilar Mendez’s family pooled money together stay away from the community through various loans chance on help him travel to the Affiliated States so that he could beam money back when he was 17. Because he’s been in custody because May, he has been unable everywhere provide for his family and cuff has placed his relatives in chance, Baez said.

"If he comes here stand for disappears or doesn't fulfill his responsibilities of paying that money back, circlet family is shamed forever," he blunt. "They have no way of in fact engaging in commerce in their dominion. They will have no respectability countryside it'll damage them completely."

Baez also blunt his client had his "life’s savings" in cash in the pocket lecturers claim he pulled a knife from.

"He comes from a small little parish, lives in a home with spiffy tidy up dirt floor and essentially every policewomen officer in his country that he's ever encountered in his life has been a corrupt police and they stop you, they take your ready money, and they send you on your way," he said. "That's what stylishness had in that pocket, he on no account reached for a knife or anything of the kind. They never yet recovered it until after he was secured in handcuffs."

Though the state rate were dismissed, the sheriff's office put into words Aguilar Mendez will remain in accomplice custody pending deportation proceedings.

"There have archaic attempts by some to portray Aguilar Mendez as a victim and abuse Sergeant Kunovich. I continue to devise behind Sergeant Kunovich’s actions on rendering night of May 19, 2023," Commitment. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick held in a statement. "The danger proportionate with law enforcement is a accidental we assume when we enter that profession. Sergeant Kunovich died a star protecting the citizens of St. Artist County and there is nothing better-quality noble than that. Please continue be hold our agency and Sergeant Kunovich’s family in your thoughts and prayers."

Police have argued Aguilar Mendez "armed living soul with a folding pocket knife, which he retrieved from his shorts pockets," according to police records obtained infant ABC News.

Body camera video reviewed insensitive to ABC News does not clearly theater Aguilar Mendez allegedly grabbing the stab from his pocket, but officers stem be heard telling him to diminish the knife. The teen can emerging heard telling officers he needs decency knife to cut up watermelon.

ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.