The defense team for an illegal alien accused of killing 27-year-old Washington State Trooper Christopher Gadd last year failed to get the case thrown out. The defense claimed prosecutors had colluded with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in violation of Washington’s sanctuary state law.
In March 2024, 34-year-old illegal alien Raul Benitez Santana of Mexico, who had had several run-ins with the law, was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide in connection with Gadd’s death.
Prosecutors claim that Santana, while driving high and drunk, crashed into Gadd, who was on the shoulder of an interstate in Snohomish County, killing him. Gadd left behind his wife Cammryn and their young daughter.
Santana’s defense team filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that prosecutors had colluded with ICE agents in revealing Santana’s status as an illegal alien in violation of Washington’s sanctuary state law.
On Monday, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Karen D. Moore found no evidence that prosecutors intentionally tried to get information on Santana regarding ICE’s detainer lodged against him.
“I am denying the defense motion to dismiss,” Moore told prosecutors and Santana’s defense team.
As a result, jury selection in the trial will begin on Tuesday.
ICE officials previously confirmed that Santana is an illegal alien who has been living in Washington for at least a decade. In 2013, he was arrested for driving without a license and later sentenced to 90 days in prison for possession of marijuana.
That same year, Santana spent 90 days in prison for failing to appear in court for the driving without a license charges against him. In May 2019, he was charged with domestic violence.
In none of those instances was Santana turned over to ICE agents for arrest and deportation.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
