A judge in the sanctuary state of Washington has reduced bail by 90 percent for an illegal immigrant accused of killing 27-year-old Washington State Police Officer Christopher Gadd.
Raul Benitez Santana, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has had multiple run-ins with police, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide in connection with Gadd’s death.
According to prosecutors, witnesses said Gadd was parked on the shoulder of an interstate in Snohomish County when Santana struck him on March 2. Witnesses said Santana had swerved and was speeding at the time.
Prosecutors say Gadd died in the crash and leaves behind his wife, Kamryn, and a 2-year-old daughter.
When police arrived at the scene of the accident, Santana had bloodshot eyes and later admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking two beers before getting behind the wheel.
Santana’s bail was originally set at $1 million, but Judge Richard Okrent last week Lowered Santana’s bail was reduced to $100,000 after his defense argued that the initial bail amount was too high for a vehicular homicide suspect.
After Santana was arrested in March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Confirmed Santana is an illegal immigrant who has lived in Washington state for at least 10 years. In May 2013, he was arrested in Washington for driving without a license and later served a 90-day jail sentence for marijuana possession.
Later that year, Santana was jailed for 90 days for failing to appear in court on a driving without a license charge, and in May 2019, he was indicted on a domestic violence charge.
Likely thanks to Snohomish County’s sanctuary policy and Washington state’s sanctuary state law signed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in 2019, Santana was never turned over to ICE agents despite his previous arrest.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
