A judge sentenced the former owner of a Vail construction company to jail time Thursday, Nov. 9, on a manslaughter charge stemming from a trench collapse near Breckenridge that killed a worker in 2021.

Judge Kenneth Plotz sentenced Peter Dillon, the owner of the now-defunct A4S construction, to 90 days in jail, four years probation and 300 hours of useful community service on a charge of reckless manslaughter, a Class 4 felony. 

Plotz noted that Marlon Diaz, the 23-year-old man killed in the trench collapse, would have had a long life ahead of him and could be “doing all the things we all do, enjoying life and coming home to his family,” if not for the trench collapse.

5th Judicial District Deputy District Attorney Stephen Potts called Diaz’s death “an absolutely tragic situation that was completely preventable.” Potts said anything other than the maximum 90-day jail sentence available under the plea agreement would be “an absolute, complete miscarriage of justice.”

Defense attorney Walker Pritchard, who represented Dillon, argued that 720 hours of community service would be a better use of Dillon’s time than jail. Pritchard noted Dillon’s significant community ties, his 25 years in the construction business without any safety violations prior to this incident, and the counseling he offered employees after the incident.

With the 90 days of jail time, Plotz handed down the maximum jail sentence called for by the prosecution.

“I think anything less than that would diminish the seriousness of the crime and be an insult to this community and to the Diaz family,” Plotz said.

At least one member of Diaz’s extended family attended the sentencing hearing virtually. In an interview earlier this year, Diaz’s parents who live in Choluteca, Honduras, said in an interview with Summit Daily News that they relied on their son’s financial support and his aunt described an emptiness in the family’s hearts as they awaited justice. 

Dillon turned himself in to local law enforcement after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 24. His arrest followed a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that the Nov. 16, 2021, incident near Breckenridge that killed Diaz could have been prevented by using a legally required trench-protection system.

Potts said the general public is probably not aware of how dangerous trenching can be without protective equipment like trench boxes or the appropriate grading. He noted that Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require construction companies to use these safety measures.

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“These workers who were on this site in Breckenridge were, daily, placing themselves in great danger of either serious harm or death as the result of the defendant’s failure to comply with the safety obligations that were mandatory on a project like this,” Potts said.

What “showed that there was a blatant disregard for safety measures,” Potts added, is that pictures show workers in dangerous trench conditions in the weeks after Diaz death.

But Pritchard noted that Dillon’s company was a subcontractor for a developer completing the larger construction project and Dillon also had his own employees who he hired to oversee the day-to-day activities at the job site.

Pritchard said though Dillon wasn’t at the worksite every day, he was there the day of the trench collapse and rushed over to start digging as soon as the trench collapsed, then stayed with first responders through the night.

After the trench collapse, Dillon arranged counseling for his employees that were there and allowed those who wanted to to take off as much time as they wanted, Pritchard said, adding that Dillon also attended Diaz’s funeral “to show his respect and sorrow.”

While “it is easy to paint a picture of Mr. Dillon as the callused developer sending others into danger,” the facts show that Dillon himself entered the unprotected trenches on multiple occasions himself and it was “part of the practice he was accustomed to,” Pritchard said.

“He hired individuals who believed could complete this trenching job. He wasn’t there supervising,” Pritchard said. “I think at the end of the day Mr. Dillon, it was his duty to know that and to do that and that is why he is pleading guilty.”

Reading from a written statement, Dillon said at the hearing that not a day goes by when he does not think about the Marlon Diaz and the Diaz family. Dillon said that although he was not “personally responsible for the day-to-day management, safety talks and oversight of the specific job site,” he should have monitored the supervision of his sites in a more careful manner.

A father of two, Dillon asked for leniency from the judge so that he could continue to care for his family. Plotz issued a three week stay to the jail sentence to allow time for Dillon to get his affairs in order.

“This tragedy has affected me greatly, which I know means little in the face of what the Diaz family has gone through,” Dillon said. “I know I can never repair the damage done. I can only apologize for my failures.”