Illegal immigrant accused in Missouri police officer's death has prior rap sheet

An illegal immigrant killed a Missouri police officer with his car while driving intoxicated over the weekend, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Ramon A. Chavez-Rodriguez of Honduras, 24, “lives locally” to the site of the crash, but “does not have legal status in the United States” and was driving without a valid license when he struck and killed St. Louis Police Officer David Lee early on Sunday morning, according to a probable cause statement reviewed by Fox 2 Now. 

At the time of the crash, he was on probation for a second-degree domestic assault charge in St. Charles County in 2020, the outlet reported. He also had an earlier DWI charge on his record, KSDK reported.

Lee was outside his car on eastbound Interstate 70 around 8:30 a.m., pulling traffic cones from his trunk to avert drivers from a crashed vehicle by the roadside, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a press conference. 

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Chavez-Rodriguez was driving nearly 20 mph over the speed limit when he lost control of his 2019 Kia Sorrento, according to the probable cause statement. His car spun out and pinned Lee between his car and the police cruiser. Then, Lee was thrown several feet. 

The driver of the initial crashed vehicle, an off-duty firefighter, risked her own life to run from her own vehicle to Lee’s aid, Tracy said, grabbing his walkie-talkie and radioing for help. 

St. Louis firefighters arrived at the scene and brought Lee to St. Louis University Hospital — but the 44-year-old died on the operating table.

Chavez-Rodriguez, who appeared visibly impaired, did not flee the scene of the crash and was taken into custody without incident, Tracy said. His BAC was measured at .10% approximately two hours after the crash.

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The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged the 24-year-old migrant with DWI-death of law enforcement or emergency personnel, exceeding posted speed limit and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid license. 

Although Chavez-Rodriguez’s immigration status does not have an effect on his criminal charges, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore told Fox 2 Now that “it does have an impact on our assessment as to whether or not he’s a flight risk or poses a danger to the community, whether or not he’s someone who should receive bond.”

St. Charles County Prosecutor Joe McCulloch said that Homeland Security has been “notified that [Chavez-Rodriguez] was arrested, that he was charged, and [that] he was in this country illegally.” 

“This answer is they’re not going to issue a detainer — and a detainer is something that would tell us to hold him until they could get him — but they weren’t going to do that because he’d already been in the system back in 2020 when [his earlier arrest on domestic violence charges] occurred,” McCulloch told Fox 2 Now. 

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Lee is survived by his wife and children — Tracy said that he had served in the St. Louis Metro Police Department’s Traffic Division for the past four years. 

“We want this individual held accountable,” Tracy said. “We want to make sure he’s brought to justice.”

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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told Fox News Digital that “this devastating loss serves as a harsh reminder of the real consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s refusal to secure the border.”

“My heart breaks for the family, friends and colleagues of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Lee, who was senselessly killed in the line of duty by an illegal immigrant driving drunk,” Bailey said. “We will honor his service by ensuring justice and security for all.”

“Thanks to the Biden-Harris Admin’s open border policy, every state, including Missouri is a border state,” Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said in a statement. “Officer Lee’s death is a tragedy. And it was totally preventable. We must act quickly to close our border and prevent more senseless acts of violence against Americans.”

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.