After a tragic and senseless loss of life, Raul Benitez-Santana, a 33-year-old Mexican citizen, was convicted of vehicular homicide and assault in the death of Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd. The March 2024 incident occurred when Benitez-Santana crashed while driving drunk at a speed over 100 miles per hour into Gadd’s parked cruiser.
For context, since the Biden administration opened our border to an unprecedented number of migrants with no vetting procedure, many citizens have been victims of migrant crime. This case is emblematic of a wider trend which includes dozens of preventable deaths.
In any case, Snohomish County Prosecutor Tobin Darrow said, “Mr. Benitez-Santana was exactly the sort of driver that Trooper Gadd was looking for. That was specifically his purpose, that was his duty. Mr. Benitez-Santana ran into and killed Trooper Gadd before he could take action to enforce the law.”
Continuing the slam the criminal, the prosecutor added, “We know from the testing of his blood he was not legal to be driving because he was over the legal limit. His perception of the danger has been blunted by the chemicals that he has consumed. He also chose to drive at extreme speed, very recklessly, and as a direct result of that killed Trooper Gadd.”
Concluding his remarks, Darrow stated, “Once he knew he was going to be consuming multiple alcoholic drinks and mixing in some marijuana on top of that – call a friend, get an Uber, sleep in the car for a while if you have to, but do not take to the road under those circumstances. He also chose to drive at extreme speed, very recklessly, and as a direct result of that killed Trooper Gadd.”
Offering more details,a legal assistant at the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office stated, “We believe defense is going to schedule a motion to reduce the bail in the next couple of weeks – we would love to be wrong on this, but we need to prepare just in case. Is there any way that I could get a copy of the charging documents because that may help us maintain the bail at $1-million.”
However, defense attorney Emily Hancock saw events differently. She claimed, “It is legal to drive after you’ve had drinks. It is legal to drive after you’ve used marijuana. The law tells you this. Raul did not have a BAC (blood-alcohol content) over .08, he was not impaired by marijuana, mistaking the shoulder for a lane is not reckless, that is a mistake.”
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Continuing her dubious defense, she said, “The investigation was not designed to objectively collect facts about every single person and every single car. He parked under an overpass, it was dark, his lights were off, he was invisible. He was speeding, he turned his turn signal on, he changed lanes, he turned his turn signal on again as he moved into the shoulder.”
Annoucing the conviction, a prominent conservative journalist took to X on June 4, to announce, “Breaking: The illegal alien accused of killing Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd has been found GUILTY on all charges. This includes vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. Raul Benitez-Santana, 36, of Mexico, killed Trooper Gadd in a DUI collision last year, slamming into his vehicle at 107 mph. He will likely be deported after a stint in jail.”
Adding more context she wrote, “Benitez-Santana is a repeat offender who has been shielded by the state’s sanctuary laws. His family has also been residing in the country unlawfully and did not attended trial out of fear of being taken into custody by ICE.”