Ruperto Aguayo, convicted of the 2023 death of Longview's Grant Hadler, was sentenced Wednesday to over eight years in state prison.
Aguayo’s lawyer, Vancouver-based defense attorney Angus Lee of Angus Lee Law Firm, told The Daily News he has filed a notice of appeal, in which he is "very confident" about.
Cowlitz County prosecutors said Aguayo, 45, of Kelso, beat 56-year-old Hadler in February 2023, following a car ride from Longview’s Shamrock Tavern, located at 1131 15th Ave., to an after-party in the 1500 block of Ross Avenue in Kelso, south of Barnes Elementary School.
Aguayo’s wife, but girlfriend at the time, accused Hadler of sexually assaulting her during the car ride multiple times, prompting Aguayo to punch him once, according to the defense.
Aguayo, who was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter but acquitted of second-degree murder in October, declined to provide a statement during his sentencing hearing and elected his attorney to speak on his behalf.
Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Lervold asked the court for the 102-month prison sentence, and Lee asked for his client to serve a 36-month prison sentence. Aguayo was sentenced to sentenced to 102 months, or eight years and six months, in prison.
With tears in her eyes, Grant Hadler's widow Sherry Hadler approached the counsel table holding a prepared statement. Unable to speak, she let another person read her words before presiding Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Thad Scudder.
"(Aguayo) is arrogant and thinks he's above the law ... he does not deserve any grace from me or my family. None," the statement read, adding that she wished she could ask for the death sentence.
Scudder said the sentencing can't make up for the loss that Grant Hadler's family and friends are feeling.
"The circumstances that led to Mr. Hadler's death were reckless and callous, leaving Mr. Hadler in the middle of the street, basically in a puddle of water," said Scudder.
According to arresting documents, on Feb. 19, 2023, officers with the Kelso Police Department were dispatched to the 1500 block of Ross Avenue to assist Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue personnel responding to a man who “fell out of a vehicle and was bleeding from the head.”
The man, later identified as Grant Hadler, was found “laying in the roadway, highly intoxicated, surrounded by his own blood.”
Aguayo later admitted to punching Grant Hadler once, followed the reported sexual assault on Aguayo's now-wife.
After being placed in the ambulance, the restaurateur went into cardiac arrest. He was transported to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center, then later transferred to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, where he died on Feb. 26, 2023.
Grant Hadler opened the Longview restaurant Grant’s at the Monticello Hotel in 2019, but it closed in 2024 after his death.
Lee told the court Wednesday he submitted a sentencing memorandum and multiple character reference statements, but Scudder said he had not been able to review them.
After summarizing the character reference statements, Lee said the jury found a single punch had been thrown against Hadler. He noted that prosecutors presented theories that had already been rejected, leading to the jury's decision of not guilty on the murder charge.
Lee advocated that Scudder should go below the standard sentencing range as there was a mitigating circumstance of Grant Hadler reportedly sexually assaulting Aguayo's wife.
"If a victim was a participant or somewhat instigated a situation that resulted in an injury to them, that's what called a mitigating circumstance, and the reason to go below the standard range," Lee argued.
He stated that at no time did the prosecutors present evidence of a motive other than that Aguayo "was thrown into this situation and reacted."
