Days before a trial is expected to begin for the man charged with killing a Washington state trooper, defense attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the case because of allegations that prosecutors violated the state’s sanctuary laws by ‘colluding’ with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the weeks after charges were filed.
The defendant, Raul Benitez-Santana, 33, is accused of driving drunk and crashing into the back of a state patrol cruiser on I-5 near Marysville in March 2024. Trooper Christopher Gadd, 27, was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car and died in the collision.
Investigators allege Benitez-Santana was going over 100mph at the time of the crash.
The trial was scheduled to begin on Thursday, but that has been postponed while the court considers the last-minute motion filed by the defense on Tuesday.
Defense attorneys Tiffany Mecca and Emily Hancock allege a staffer in the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office engaged in ‘outrageous government misconduct’ by asking ICE officials in Seattle if they could put a detainer on Benitez-Santana ahead of a court hearing last spring where he was asking for a reduced bail.
Benitez-Santana is a citizen of Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally at the time he was arrested for Gadd’s death. ICE placed an immigration detainer on him within a week of when he was booked into the Snohomish County jail for charges of vehicular homicide.
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Washington’s sanctuary laws restrict how and when police, prosecutors, and jails can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Defense attorneys allege communication between the prosecutors office and ICE violated the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW) and the Court Open to All act (COTA).
Emails cited in the defense memo show a legal assistant at the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office contacted ICE on March 6 and asked about the possibility of putting a federal hold on him in anticipation of a proposed bail reduction.
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“(Prosecution legal assistant) not only communicated with ICE, she sent ICE notification that defense was expected to file a bail motion,” the motion states. “Less than an hour after Mr. Benitez-Santana filed his motion, (legal assistant) provided ICE with a copy of the defense brief. Less than an hour later, Mr. Benitez-Santana was informed ICE would be present at his bail hearing to arrest him.”
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The KWW prohibits law enforcement and state agencies from collecting or sharing immigration information unless there is a ‘connection between that information and an investigation into a violation of state or local criminal law’ or if required to by court order or other legal requirement.
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Mecca and Hancock, the defense attorneys, say statements made by Republican politicians in Washington and commenters on social media have prejudiced the potential jury pool.
“The media has used inflammatory and racist language to report on this case,” Hancock and Mecca wrote in a pre-trial motion filed this week. “Elected officials have used this for political gain, regardless of the harm it would do to constitutional protections. And the public has weighed in, judging not only Mr. Benitez-Santana, but an entire group of people who they deem unworthy of due process.”
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