Mexican illegal immigrant with prior convictions suspected in vehicular homicide of Washington State Patrol trooper

On Saturday, Trooper Christopher M. Gadd, 27, was on patrol for speeders and DUI drivers on Interstate 5 near Marysville, WA when he was struck and killed in a three-vehicle crash at approximately 3 am. The impact was so severe that the black SUV ricocheted into a white van in the fast lane after it hit the trooper’s vehicle.

Gadd leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old daughter. His father is also a Washington State trooper and his sister is a trooper in Texas.

According to court documents, the SUV that smashed into Gadd was driven by 33-year-old Raul Benitez Santana, a Mexican foreign national with a criminal record who was in the country illegally.

Investigators stated that Santana was driving south on I-5 at a high rate of speed when his SUV veered onto the shoulder, slamming into the trooper’s parked patrol vehicle.

According to law enforcement, Santana admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking two beers earlier in the evening. He was given a preliminary breath test and was "unable to perform" in the hospital bed, but when he opened his eyes, officials noted they were "bloodshot."

The documents also stated that 3 hours after the collision he still had a significant blood alcohol level.

Santana is being held on $1 million bail after a hearing on Monday during which Snohomish County District Court presiding judge, Commissioner Jennifer Millett found probable cause for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

On Tuesday, The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI exclusively revealed that Santana was an illegal immigrant.

An ICE Spokesperson told Hoffman, “ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Seattle placed an immigration detainer with the Snohomish County Jail, WA, March 4, for Raul Benitez Santana, 33, a citizen of Mexico who is currently being held on charges related to vehicular homicide.”

The spokesperson added that Santana is “...unlawfully present in the US” and entered the country “…at an unknown date and time, without admission or parole by an immigration officer.”

He was “…first encountered by ERO Seattle Oct. 28, 2013, at the South Correctional Entity, Burien, WA, following his arrest for failure to appear for driving while license suspended.”

Santana has multiple previous convictions for driving while his license was suspended or revoked, possession, and domestic violence assault.

The spokesperson noted, "As one of the operational directorates associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ERO Seattle lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement."

"An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released, allowing ERO to assume custody for possible removal to the subject’s home country in accordance with federal law."

It remains to be seen if the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office will honor ICE’s request to hold Santana in custody if he manages to post bail.

Despite being an illegal immigrant, Snohomish County court documents erroneously claimed Santana was a US citizen.

In 2017, ICE listed Snohomish on the list of "Highest Volume of Detainers Issued to Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions," counties that "have a policy of non-cooperation."

In 2019, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee signed the “Keep Washington Working Act,” legislation making Washington a "sanctuary state," and restricting “the extent to which local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) may participate in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

Under the measure, state and local authorities aren't able to question people about their immigration status except in limited cases. Additionally, local jails and state prisons and not required to comply with voluntary federal “immigration holds” or notify federal authorities when they are scheduled to release an illegal immigrant from custody.

Inslee signed the legislation days before Santana’s domestic violence conviction.

The legislation followed an executive order with similar provisions that Inslee signed in 2017.

Inslee’s communications director Mike Falk told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, “Our laws do not protect individuals from arrests by ICE and other federal agencies, nor do they prevent someone from being put in deportation proceedings. They prevent local law enforcement from acting as civil immigration enforcement.”

“While not every offense is a deportable offense, the kind of charges reported in this case could result in deportation for someone who is a non-citizen.”

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson published based on these new limits in 2020.