Following the May 8 sentencing hearing for a juvenile involved in a brawl that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Jackson Davis, the mother of Davis and family members expressed dissatisfaction with how the criminal cases stemming from the brawl have been handled.

The May 8 sentencing was the first case in which one of the youths involved in the melee was sentenced. The 16-year-old assailant pleaded guilty to first-degree assault resulting in serious bodily injury by use of a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony. He received a 24-month probation sentence, which included 45 days of detention that had already been served. The juvenile spent 67 days in detention before sentencing. 

Nefi Ezequiel Armijo Hernandez, who was 16 at the time, is the other teen facing charges stemming from the brawl. Armijo Hernandez faces a first-degree murder charge, among others, and is set to be tried as an adult. His attorneys have moved to see him remanded back to juvenile court via a reverse transfer hearing, which has been scheduled for July 14-17.

In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Armijo Hernandez also is facing a second-degree murder charge, two charges of a violent crime involving death, and a charge of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon.

The assailant sentenced on May 8 was not charged with the stabbing that killed Davis. He was accused of bringing a baseball bat to the fight and hitting another teen with it on the night of April 24, 2024. His participation in the brawl, which involved multiple teens and was recorded on video, should have been prosecuted more intensely and brought to trial if necessary, family members of Davis said following the May 8 hearing.

Instead, a plea deal was negotiated without the family’s knowledge, Davis’ mother said, allowing the assailant to potentially avoid more jail time.

“We had no idea about the plea,” said Christy Davis, Jackson’s mother. “I was never even informed of any pleas, and if I was alright with it, if our family was OK with it, not one email, not one phone call, nothing.”

Christy Davis said McCollum told her the district attorney’s office does not prosecute minors, and the justice system places more concern on the protection of youth offenders than the interests of victims. In court, McCollum made similar statements to Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez.

McCollum did not respond to a request for comment surrounding the plea deal, or how her office handles cases involving juveniles.

Davis’ uncle, Robert Hermosillo, also attended the hearing and said he felt McCollum’s statements to the judge appeared to be an attempt to explain why she negotiated an outcome that avoided jail time for the defendant.

“To me it came across as almost working alongside the defense to reiterate to the court that this is a minor, and that — while our statements are painful and there’s pain involved — it almost came across as telling the judge it should have no bearing on what your decision should be,” Hermosillo said. “Maybe she truly has her hands tied, and she’s understaffed and overworked … but at the end of the day, they could have done a lot more.”

Staffing issues in the DA’s office

McCollum’s office, in recent months, has lost numerous staff members. After the May 8 hearing, McCollum said she didn’t have any time to answer emails from the media. The in-person exchange came after McCollum had failed to respond to three previous emails from the Vail Daily seeking information about other cases dating back to March 11.

Former Deputy District Attorney Lydia Wandmacher recently resigned from her post, and another prosecutor, Chris Ryan, is also no longer with the office. Assistant District Attorney Joe Kirwan is also on extended leave after undergoing surgery. The office also parted ways with John Bryan, its public information officer, in January.

Christy Davis said McCollum is the third prosecutor to work on the cases stemming from the brawl that took her son’s life.

“Part of the frustration is both of the DAs that we started with are no longer with us,” she said. “But there’s a difference between a low staff and properly charging the defendant. They could have done a lot more, even though they’re understaffed, there was originally like seven charges, and they dropped most of them.”

Hermosillo said the fear among prosecutors is that, if a case goes to trial, there’s always a risk of losing. But to his family, the 24-month sentence to probation doesn’t feel any different than a losing outcome, he said.

“There was no discussion with us about what we would like to see, no explanation of ‘here’s what the law permits us as the DA’s office to do, this is the max we can chase under the law,’ nothing like that,” he said.

The mother of the victim from the May 8 hearing said she would have liked to see the assailant face stiffer penalties.

“I feel like you need to be punished to the max, this is ridiculous,” she told the assailant during the May 8 hearing.

The assailant was placed on GPS monitoring after serving his initial 67 days in detention, but Olguin-Fresquez allowed that monitoring device to be removed following the sentencing, saying he earned that privilege.

Davis’ family was disappointed in Olguin-Fresquez’s decision to remove the GPS monitoring device, considering the assailant’s attorney told the judge the assailant is not originally from the United States after emigrating to Eagle County at 10 with his father, and that his mother and sister still live in Honduras, making him a potential flight risk.

“It’s basically the honor system,” Hermosillo said.

Davis’ family members said when Olguin-Fresquez told the defendant he had earned the right to have his monitoring device removed, she appeared to overlook his violations of the pre-sentencing agreement, which included missed sessions with a therapist and a violation of a protection order. Defense attorney Terry O’Connor said the missed sessions were the result of a misunderstanding over where the sessions were supposed to be taking place, and the violation of the protection order was carried out without his client realizing he had done so.

Olguin-Fresquez also ordered the assailant to spend more time with a therapist.

“I don’t know the specific type of therapy, but obviously one dealing in trauma would be very appropriate,” she said.

Hermosillo said he was confused by that directive.

“He pled guilty to beating someone with a baseball bat, but he’s the one who experienced the trauma?” Hermosillo said. “I didn’t understand that.”

The family also feels that more people could have been charged with crimes in the case. At the May 8 sentencing hearing, Jackson’s grandmother, Robin Davis, described the situation as a miscarriage of justice.

“Adding to our grief is the fact that there are other individuals who were present during Jackson’s murder who have not been charged with accessory to this crime,” she said.

Christy Davis said the hardest part of the hearing, for her, was the fact that the assailant chose not to give a statement.

“That was a huge slap in the face,” she said. “He had the opportunity to get up and say, despite what you guys think, I really am sorry, but he showed no remorse.”

Despite their dissatisfaction with the case so far, the family said they’re remaining optimistic that justice will be served in the case of Armijo Hernandez.