Reduced Bail from $1 Million to $100K for Illegal Migrant Accused of Killing Washington State Trooper
A Washington state judge reduced bail for an illegal migrant accused of killing a trooper. Raul Benitez Santana’s bail dropped from $1 million to $100,000. Santana, 32, faces charges for the death of trooper Gadd. Despite arguments for his release, the trooper’s widow objected, stating it would diminish the seriousness of the crime. Judge’s decision disappoints prosecution. In Washington state, a judge lowered bail for an illegal migrant accused of killing a trooper. Raul Benitez Santana’s bail went from $1 million to $100,000. Santana, 32, is charged in the trooper Gadd case. Despite defense arguments, the trooper’s widow opposed his release, fearing it would lessen the crime’s gravity. The prosecution was disappointed by the judge’s ruling.
A Washington state judge has slashed the bail amount for an illegal migrant accused of killing a state trooper in a crash from $1 million down to just $100,000.
Raul Benitez Santana, 32, is charged with vehicular assault and vehicular homicide involving alcohol or drugs in connection with the March death of Washington state trooper Christopher Gadd, 27.
Judge Richard Okrent of Snohomish County Superior Court reduced Santana’s bail on May 15, and jail records show his original $1 million bail was lowered to $100,000.
The illegal migrant is accused of consuming cannabis and beer before driving 112 mph on the I-5 south just north of Seattle, according to the Everett Herald. He allegedly drove on the shoulder where he crashed into Gadd’s parked patrol car. Gadd died at the scene.
Santana has been held at the Snohomish County Jail since the deadly crash.
Santana’s defense lawyers had argued for his release, arguing that he is not a risk to commit additional crimes and that he would appear at court hearings. Santana has several misdemeanors for driving with a suspended license, but no felony convictions.
“If released, his parents will welcome him back into their home,” the defense team wrote. “He is not a flight risk.”
The state trooper’s widow objected to releasing her husband’s killer.
“Reducing bail would not only undermine the severity of the crime but also inflict further anguish and distress upon me, our child, and the rest of our family,” Cammryn Gadd wrote in a letter to the judge.
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Deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow told the Herald he was “very disappointed in Judge Okrent’s decision.”
Gadd is survived by his wife and two-year-old daughter. His father is also a Washington state trooper.
Hundreds of police officers attended a memorial service for him in March.
Santana is a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown time, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official told Fox News.
ICE placed an immigration detainer on Santana after he was arrested.
Santana’s defense lawyers are reportedly concerned that he could be deported if he posts bail.
Gadd’s death is one of several recent deaths allegedly caused by migrants who entered the country illegally.
In February, a 26-year-old Venezuelan man who was in the country illegally spotted 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley while she was out on her morning run, dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, according to authorities.
In October, a three-year-old girl was killed when an illegal immigrant who did not have a driver’s license allegedly ran a stop sign and crashed into the girl’s family’s SUV.
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