{"id":2444446,"date":"2025-06-08T11:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T15:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illegal-immigrant-found-guilty-of-homicide-in-death-of-state-trooper\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T11:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T15:33:14","slug":"illegal-immigrant-found-guilty-of-homicide-in-death-of-state-trooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illegal-immigrant-found-guilty-of-homicide-in-death-of-state-trooper\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Immigrant Found Guilty of Homicide in Death of State Trooper"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fillegal-immigrant-found-guilty-of-homicide-in-death-of-state-trooper%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2444446&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Raul Benitez-santana, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault for a crash that resulted in the death of Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd in march 2024. Benitez-Santana was driving at 107 mph while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana when he crashed into Gadd&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senators-son-involved-in-police-chase-resulting-in-death-of-sheriffs-deputy\/\" title=\"GOP Senator&#039;s son implicated in fatal police pursuit leading to deputy&#039;s demise\">parked patrol car<\/a>. Prosecutors argued that his reckless driving directly caused Gadd&#8217;s death, while the defense contended that Gadd&#8217;s vehicle was difficult to see at night. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer for Benitez-Santana, who has prior deportation orders. After the conviction, the Washington State Patrol emphasized the importance of removing dangerous drivers from the streets and reflected on the loss of Trooper Gadd. His sentencing is scheduled for July 2, 2024.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An illegal immigrant has been convicted of causing the March 2024 death of a Washington State Patrol trooper.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Raul Benitez-Santana was found guilty of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the crash that killed Trooper Christopher Gadd, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/illegal-immigrant-convicted-100-mph-dui-crash-killed-washington-state-trooper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a detainer out for Benitez-Santana, a Mexican citizen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benitez-Santana was driving 107 mph on the shoulder of Interstate 5 while under the influence when he struck Gadd&rsquo;s parked patrol vehicle, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.king5.com\/article\/news\/crime\/gadd-verdict-final-trial-washington-state-patrol\/281-99d0b0dc-6edb-4ee6-b08d-396c58ddc967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KING-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Mr. Benitez-Santana had too much to drink; he mixed it with marijuana. His blood alcohol shows he was legally intoxicated,&rdquo; deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow said during closing arguments.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;But for him driving at a 100 miles per hour on the shoulder illegally, Trooper Gadd would not have been killed,&rdquo; deputy prosecutor Isaac Wells said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defense attorney Emily Hancock blamed Gadd.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;He parked under an overpass. It was dark. His lights were off. And he was invisible,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Mistaking the shoulder for a lane is not reckless. That is a mistake,&rdquo; Hancock said. &ldquo;Raul is not guilty of vehicular homicide. He is not guilty of vehicular assault, and he was not impaired.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the verdict, the Washington State Patrol released a statement, saying in part the jury&rsquo;s decisions are &ldquo;just and welcomed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;With this decision, one more dangerous driver is removed from our streets, something Christopher Gadd dedicated his life to doing with every shift, by committing himself to conducting &lsquo;one more stop&rsquo; on every day he served our state as a Washington State Trooper,&rdquo; Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;While the verdict does not take away the pain of losing Chris, it does offer a modicum of relief for those who served with and loved this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tuskegee-university-football-player-model-student-athlete-shot-and-killed\/\" title=\"Tuskegee University Football Player \u201cModel Student-Athlete\u201d Shot and ...\">fine young man<\/a>,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benitez-Santana&rsquo;s sentencing has been scheduled for July 2.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the trial, Darrow said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/illegal-immigrant-deported-4-times-arrested-deadly-dwi-crash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Benitez-Santana<\/a> &ldquo;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,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/news\/local\/verdict-raul-benitez-santana-charged-death-washington-state-patrol-trooper-christopher-gadd-vehicular-homicide-assault-marysville\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KOMO-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Hancock said mixing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/father-two-killed-wrong-way-crash-illegal-immigrant-charged-drunk-driving-felony-death-vehicle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">driving<\/a>, marijuana and alcohol is just fine.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;It is legal to drive after you&rsquo;ve had drinks. It is legal to drive after you&rsquo;ve used marijuana. The law tells you this,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Darrow said Benitez-Santana did not need to be on the road, where he was clocked at over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ice-steps-trump-assassination-threat-9-time-illegal-immigrant-caught\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">110 mph<\/a> just before the crash.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">27-year-old State Patrol Trooper Christopher Gadd was recently k&#303;lled in the state of Washington by an illegal named Raul Benitez Santana from Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Gadd was parked on the side of the road when Santana, who&rsquo;d been drinking and smoking, plowed into him.<\/p>\n<p>Secure the border.&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lRJjsaKe4c\">pic.twitter.com\/lRJjsaKe4c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Real Life Footage (@RealLifeFootage) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealLifeFootage\/status\/1765480228280029624?\">March 6, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Once he knew he was going to be <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >consuming multiple alcoholic drinks<\/a> and mixing in some marijuana on top of that &mdash; 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,&rdquo; Darrow said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;He also chose to drive at extreme speed, very recklessly, and as a direct result of that killed Trooper Gadd.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benitez-Santana&rsquo;s attorneys tried to have the trial thrown out, claiming collusion between the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney&rsquo;s Office and ICE, which the defense said violated Washington state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/us-attorney-comes-ingenious-response-sanctuary-state-going-flood-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sanctuary laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The attempt to do so failed.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An undocumented immigrant has been found guilty of causing the death of a Washington State Patrol trooper in March 2024. Raul Benitez-Santana was convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault for the crash that resulted in Trooper Christopher Gadd&#8217;s death, as reported by Fox News. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detainer for Benitez-Santana, who is from Mexico. He was driving at 107 mph on the shoulder of Interstate 5 while intoxicated when he collided with Gadd&#8217;s parked patrol car, according to KING-TV. Deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow stated during closing arguments that Benitez-Santana had consumed too much alcohol and marijuana, making him legally intoxicated. Another prosecutor noted that Trooper Gadd would not have died if not for Benitez-Santana&#8217;s reckless driving at such high speeds.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorney Emily Hancock argued that Gadd was at fault for parking under an overpass in darkness without his lights on, making him hard to see. She claimed that mistaking the shoulder for a lane was merely a mistake rather than recklessness and insisted her client was not guilty of either charge.<\/p>\n<p>Following the verdict, the Washington State Patrol expressed relief over the jury&#8217;s decision, emphasizing their commitment to removing dangerous drivers from the roads-a mission Trooper Gadd dedicated his life to during his service.<\/p>\n<p>Benitez-Santana is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2. During trial proceedings, it was highlighted that he represented exactly what Trooper Gadd aimed to address as part of his duty; however, Hancock maintained there is nothing illegal about mixing alcohol with marijuana before driving.<\/p>\n<p>Darrow criticized Benitez-Santana&#8217;s choice to drive after consuming multiple drinks and using marijuana while speeding excessively just before the incident occurred. Attempts by Benitez-Santana&#8217;s legal team to dismiss charges based on alleged collusion between prosecutors and ICE were unsuccessful<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2444447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Raul-Benitez-Santana.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[56751,9832,33009,33062],"class_list":["post-2444446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-crime-headline","tag-homicide","tag-illegal-immigration","tag-state-trooper"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Raul-Benitez-Santana.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444446"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2444450,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444446\/revisions\/2444450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2444447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}