Man Charged In Washington State Trooper’s Death Entered US Illegally

A Mexican man who entered the U.S. illegally was charged in the death of a Washington State Patrol Trooper, CNN reported.

Raul Benitez Santana, 33, allegedly crashed into Trooper Christopher Gadd’s patrol car around 3 a.m. on Saturday and admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana before driving, according to CNN. It is unclear when he crossed the border into the U.S.

Santana was charged with vehicular homicide, CNN reported.

“Our trooper was tragically killed when struck by a motorist just before 3 a.m. today on southbound Interstate 5 near 136th Street North (milepost 203) in Marysville,” Chris Loftis, Washington State Patrol communications director, said in a Saturday press statement.

Santana has been booked into the Snohomish County Jail and placed under an immigration detainer, CNN reported.

Santana was sentenced in May 2013 to 90 days in jail for possessing marijuana, the New York Post reported. He had been fined two weeks prior for driving with a suspended license, and in 2014 was sentenced to 90 days in jail for driving with the same offense, according to the outlet.

He was arrested in May 2019 for domestic violence assault, NYP reported.

Santana was first encountered by the Enforcement and Removal Operations in October 2013 at the South Correctional Entity in Washington state for failing to appear in court for driving on a suspended license, the NYP reported.

Neither ICE and the sheriff’s office immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.