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Illegal immigrant’s lawyer slams police after manslaughter charges dropped: ‘Creating a false narrative’

March 2, 2024 | | Print Article

A Florida case involving an illegal teenage migrant and a dead police officer is highlighting yet another dark facet of the catastrophic fallout from the Biden administration’s failure to close the U.S. border with Mexico.

Because the teen couldn’t speak English, he was deemed “incompetent to proceed” in the aggravated manslaughter case against him. Now his high-profile lawyer is trashing the sheriff in a federal civil rights lawsuit against his estate, another lieutenant, and St. Johns County.

Sgt. Michael Kunovich of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office approached Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, 19, at about 9 p.m. on May 19, 2023, as he was walking down a public street with his mother, the lawsuit alleges.

Kunovich suspected Aguilar Mendez of a crime, according to Fox News Digital. The teenager didn’t attempt to flee, the lawsuit states, but he did resist arrest.

After apologizing in English, it states, the migrant, allegedly confused, told the deputy: “I’m sorry, no speak, no speak English.”

Other deputies arrived on the scene — some of them Spanish-speaking — and attempted to restrain Aguilar Mendez, ultimately tasing him and tackling him to the ground.

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“While fighting on the ground, the suspect attempted to grab Sergeant Kunovich’s taser and continued to violently resist for approximately 6 minutes and 19 seconds,” Sheriff Robert Hardwick said at the time.

“The deputies then handcuffed the migrant, but he managed to acquire a small pocketknife,” Fox News Digital reports. “The office did not say if the migrant attempted to use the weapon.”

“Sergeant Kunovich collapsed moments after the subject was disarmed and relentless lifesaving measures were initiated by St. Johns County Fire Rescue and Flagler Health+ personnel,” the statement read. “He was ultimately pronounced deceased shortly after transport to Flagler Hospital.”

Aguilar Mendez was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of an officer.

On Friday, those charges were dropped. The teen, however, was not released. He remains in federal custody, facing deportation.

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“Recent expert testimony regarding the defendant’s inability to comprehend the English language, his cultural background and concerns about his intellectual capacity have raised significant issues to consider in the case,” the 7th District State Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Furthermore, based on the court’s recent ruling that the defendant is incompetent to proceed based on that expert testimony, dismissal of the charges is appropriate. Arrest and time served is sufficient.”

It wasn’t enough for Aguilar Mendez’s attorney, Jose Baez — of Casey Anthony fame — who, following the win, accused the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office of “creating a false narrative” that his client “failed to follow instructions.”

You see, Aguilar Mendez is from Guatemala. He speaks neither English nor Spanish. His primary language is Mam, a Mayan language spoken by about half a million Mam people in Guatemala and Mexico.

“Culture that starts and ends with the sheriff, who not only doubled down and tripled down by creating a false narrative that this young man, who came in at 17, was someone who failed to follow instructions,” Baez told reporters at a press conference following Aguilar Mendez’s dismissal.

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“He says if he only followed instructions Kunovich would still be alive,” Baez fumed. “I want to one day see him comply to orders given to him in Mam or Spanish and I would guarantee you that he would not comply. Then claim Vergilio Aguilar Mendez was going to use a knife, knowing that was a lie.”

According to Baez, his client was “unable to understand the brutality of the officers.”

“Without question, Aguilar Mendez did not understand the purpose or reason for the officers to pile on him, to physically strike him multiple times, and the repeated use of a taser by Sgt. Kunovich,” he said.

“A lawsuit from Baez claimed that Lt. Jose Jimenez, another responding deputy, did not make Aguilar Mendez aware of his Miranda rights, or attempt to obtain an interpreter for him,” Fox News Digital reports. “The deputies ‘knew there was a substantial likelihood that Aguilar Mendez would be unable to communicate effectively, absent any interpretive aid for Mam, and ignored Aguilar Mendez’s statutory rights and SJCSO’s policies regarding limited English proficiency,’ the lawsuit reads.”

According to the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, “The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for 19-year-old Virgilio Aguilar Mendez citing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act. It names the county, the late Sgt. Michael Kunovich and Lt. Jose Jimenez.”

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“Aguilar Mendez was walking on a public sidewalk and speaking with his mother, which is not a crime,” the lawsuit states. “When Sgt. Kunovich seized Aguilar Mendez, he stopped and did not try to flee.”

“It was clear to Sgt. Kunovich that Aguilar Mendez had limited English proficiency, and Sgt. Kunovich made no attempts, under SJCSO policy, to communicate with Aguilar Mendez in another language,” according to the lawsuit. “Without provocation or justification, Sgt. Kunovich then physically seized Aguilar Mendez without any reasonable suspicion of any crime, misdemeanor or felony, and illegally searched Aguilar Mendez’s person.”

“Unable to understand the brutality of the officers, Aguilar Mendez began to cry out for his family,” the lawsuit alleges. “In the video, he says several times ‘familia’ (family) and, in response to commands, says that he does not understand or speak English.”

“In the video, Aguilar Mendez can be heard screaming in pain when he is tased six times by Sgt. Kunovich over two minutes,” it continues. “Without question, Aguilar Mendez did not understand the purpose or reason for the officers to pile on him, to physically strike him multiple times, and the repeated use of a taser by Sgt. Kunovich.”

“About 10 minutes after Aguilar Mendez was placed in a patrol car, Kunovich collapsed in medical distress and died from what the medical examiner ruled were natural causes,” according to the Times-Union.

“Are we living in crazy times in America?” asked one user on X.

“Instead of begging for leniency, Aguilar-Mendez (who ‘incidentally’ had a knife in his pocket during the struggle with the officer) has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming he has a ‘disability,'” the user stated. “His ‘disability’ IS NOT UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH.”

“Since anything goes, why wouldn’t Aguilar-Mendez, as a ‘disabled’ person, demand, say, federal financial assistance…?” the user reasoned. “The mad show to be continued.”

Melissa Fine
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