Police have arrested the illegal immigrant who killed California police officer Ronil Singh on Wednesday after he stopped him for a DUI. Singh, just 33 years old, leaves behind a wife, a five-month-old son.
The killer is identified as Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was in the U.S. after crossing the Arizona border. He was tied to multiple gangs and had two previous DUI arrests.
Following the capture of his brother's killer, Reggie Singh managed to share a few words at a press conference before breaking down in tears.
NEW: Authorities have the announced arrest of Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 32, an undocumented immigrant with known gang affiliations, for allegedly killing Northern California police officer Ronil Singh. https://t.co/8TBswROy02 pic.twitter.com/TtRCn2bazn
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) December 28, 2018
For many, Singh's death calls to mind the murder of Kate Steinle. In July of 2015, the 32-year-old Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant while on a walk in San Francisco. Her killer had been deported from the U.S. multiple times. Incensed by the tragedy, members of Congress introduced Kate's Law, which would mandate up to 10 to 25 years in prison for illegal immigrants in the U.S. with a criminal history who had been previously deported.
Arriago will be charged with homicide while two others, Adrian Virgen, 25, and Erik Razo Quiroz, 27, will be charged with being accessories for trying to hide the suspect.
As Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson noted Friday, Singh's death could have been prevented.
"While we absolutely need to stay focused on Officer Singh’s service and sacrifice, we can’t ignore the fact that this could’ve been preventable," Christianson said. "And under SB54 in California, based on two arrests for DUI and some other active warrants that this criminal has out there, law enforcement would’ve been prevented, prohibited from sharing any information with ICE about this criminal gang member. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not how you protect a community."