Nolte: Lawyer for Illegal Alien Who Allegedly Killed Trooper Says ‘Not All Car Accidents Are Crimes’

According to the lawyer defending Raul Benitez-Santana, the car accident that resulted in the death of a Washington State Patrol trooper in March 2024 was not a crime. It was just a car accident. You can watch the attorney make her argument below:

Well, here’s why authorities believe it was a crime. According to the police, Raul Benitez-Santana was…

…in the country illegally.

…driving over 100 MPH when he hit the Trooper’s vehicle.

…admitted to smoking marijuana before getting in his vehicle.

…admitted to drinking beer before getting in his vehicle.

…was driving recklessly in the passing lane.

…blew a .047 in the breathalyzer, which is below the legal limit of .08, but he blew that three hours after the accident.

According to various reports, last March, 27-year-old Trooper Christopher M. Gadd was parked in his cruiser on the shoulder of the interstate at around 3 a.m. when an illegal alien, shielded from deportation by Democrat-run Washington state’s insane sanctuary laws, swerved and struck the trooper’s cruiser from behind at 107 MPH. Santana’s car bounced back into the traffic lane, where he was then struck by a van carrying six people. The van’s driver suffered a broken wrist.

Trooper Gadd left behind a young wife and daughter.

If any of that is true — what part isn’t a crime again?

Incredibly, the 33-year-old illegal alien’s defense team previously sought to get the entire case dismissed with the claim that prosecutors had conspired with immigration officials in violation of Washington state’s sanctuary law. The defense argued that by revealing Santana’s illegal status, the law was broken, and the entire case should be tossed. A judge denied the request.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Santana has been in the country illegally for a decade.

Everyone deserves — including an illegal alien — the best defense available. No one’s arguing that. Now, don’t get me wrong, regardless of the verdict, this guy needs to be shipped back to Mexico pronto. But as far as the crime itself, he deserves the best defense. Before the state can be allowed to strip you of your freedom, it must make its case. But from what I’m seeing, the following defense argument is not much of a defense in the face of a vehicular homicide charge:

Benitez-Santana’s defense argued that it was dark and Gadd’s vehicle did not have its lights on, claiming Benitez-Santana only saw the car’s lights come on one second before the crash. Prosecutors countered, arguing his driving in the passing lane of the freeway was reckless regardless of the circumstances.

Intent has nothing to do with a charge of vehicular homicide. Negligence is enough, and if I’m on the jury and made to believe Santana was driving over 100 MPH, he’s going to prison. If it can be proven he drove at this rate of speed after consuming beer and alcohol, he’s going to prison with a 350-pound cellmate who calls himself Trixie.

Regardless, this guy shouldn’t have been allowed to stay in the country. Trooper Gadd should be alive because Santana never should have been deported years ago. And while I’m not okay with illegals shielded from deportation for any reason, if we were talking about an illegal who worked, took care of a family, and was law-abiding, I could at least understand that sanctuary premise. But according to authorities, we are not. This is the guy the Democrat-run state of Washington refused to deport:

Benitez Santana also has multiple previous convictions for driving with a suspended license, multiple tickets for speeding (including going 49 mph over the speed limit), and multiple domestic violence protection orders.

If all that is true, the Democrats who run the state of Washington refused to defuse a ticking time bomb by deporting him, which makes Washington State Democrats equally guilty of Trooper Gadd’s death.

John Nolte’ s first and last novel Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.