A Honduran national who illegally crossed into the United States was charged with killing a Missouri police officer while driving drunk.
Missouri Police Officer David Lee was killed, leaving behind his wife and two children.
Prosecutors filed charges against illegal alien Ramon Arnaldo Chavez-Rodriguez on Monday. He was detained at the scene of the crash where Lee was killed (via KSDK):
Chavez-Rodriguez was reportedly driving 71 mph in a 55 mph zone before he lost control of his vehicle and it began spinning on the freshly rained-on roads, according to court documents. The out-of-control vehicle pinned Lee to it and the previously crashed vehicle before throwing Lee several feet away.
Chavez-Rodriguez had a blood alcohol content of .10, above the .08 legal limit, two hours after hitting Lee, according to court documents. He had previously pled guilty to driving while intoxicated and second-degree assault in a previous 2020 incident, where he physically abused a woman and attempted to hit her with his car, court documents from that case said.
Prosecutors said the past incident, and Chavez-Rodriguez's lack of U.S. legal status, made them believe he was a danger to the community. He is being held without bond.
HORRIFIC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 23, 2024
Ramon Arnaldo Chavez-Rodriguez, a Honduran national who’s in our country illegally, was charged with the kiIIing of Missouri Police Officer David Lee. Chavez-Rodriguez struck Officer Lee while driving drunk.
Officer Lee leaves behind a wife and 2 children. He was an 18… pic.twitter.com/hGQm7nznR6
St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy reportedly said Lee is the 167th St. Louis police officer to die in the line of duty.
“We will be by [Lee's family's] side, helping in any way we can as they go through their darkest hours. We're devastated, we're heartbroken, but we will continue to serve a protected city of St Louis and make our fallen colleague proud,” Tracy said at a news conference Sunday night, according to KSDK.
“We’re all going to be mourning the loss for days to come, years to come, after this.”
Now, Lee’s family is being helped by BackStoppers, an organization that provides financial support to families of first responders who die in the line of duty.
“Enough is enough,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley wrote on X. “CLOSE THE BORDER.”
Officer David Lee, killed in the line of duty yesterday in St. Louis by an illegal immigrant. Enough is enough. CLOSE THE BORDER pic.twitter.com/NjgiZGel8a
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 23, 2024