Blaine Motorist Gets 'No Mercy' For Fatally Hitting Man At Mailbox

An Anoka County District Court judge sentenced Adam J. Rodman last week to 10 years in prison for drunk driving and speeding through a residential Blaine neighborhood and fatally striking Danilo Aguilar, who was standing at his mailbox. Rodman, 28, of Blaine, was charged by the Anoka County Attorney’s Office in May 2016 with three felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor count of failing to stop for a collision.

According to the criminal complaint, both the victim and the mailbox were thrown approximately 100 feet, whereupon the victim collided with a neighboring garage door:

Clothing articles, including footwear and socks were located between himself and the mailbox base. Officers observed a significant debris field of plastic and glass vehicle parts stretching approximately two blocks. Additional witnesses in the area reported observing the suspect vehicle traveling on westbound 119th Ave. NE and noted it was a small black passenger car with one headlight out.

A short time later, a neighbor contacted police to report observing a vehicle matching that description stop on the north side of 118th Ave. NE in the 2000 block. Officers in the area observed the vehicle was no longer parked in the location, but noticed broken glass and a broken branch in the roadway consistent with the scene of the accident involving Victim A.

Officers also located a path of oil and other debris leading from that location up to the garage door of a residence in the 2000 block of 118th Ave. NE. Through the garage windows, officers observed a black passenger car with heavy damage, consistent with the two collisions that had just occurred.

Offices spoke with a resident of the home who identified his roommate, ADAM JOSEPH RODMAN (DOB: 03/04/1989), Defendant herein, as the owner of the vehicle. Officers were invited into the residence where they located the Defendant inside a bedroom.

Officers immediately smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the Defendant and observed fresh vomit on the bed and the floor next to him. Upon waking the Defendant up, officers observed his speech was slurred and he appeared to still be heavily intoxicated. They also observed scrapes on his face and neck consistent with being struck by glass in an accident.

In March, a jury found Rodman guilty on all four counts. Assistant Anoka County Attorney Treye Kettwick asked the court to impose a 120-month sentence – the maximum sentence allowed by law. "Mr. Rodman deserves absolutely no mercy," Kettwick said in the sentencing hearing.

Anoka County District Court Judge Daniel O’Fallon sentenced Rodman to 120 months, with 393 days of jail credit. O’Fallon said he looked at "the totality of the circumstances," including Rodman’s apparent lack of remorse and the aggravating factors that increased the seriousness of the crime.

Those factors were Rodman’s extreme intoxication, operating beyond the posted speed limit, extreme recklessness, leaving the scene, and shifting the blame, according to a news release.

"It is incredibly sad to hear the dramatic impact this tragedy has had on the Aguilar family," Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo said after the sentencing. "Unfortunately, a criminal sentence cannot return Mr. Aguilar to his family. But we do feel the maximum sentence served justice in this case."

Image No. 1 via Anoka County Attorney's Office, Image No. 2 via Google Streetview