A known violent offender from Honduras in the U.S. illegally was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday for the September 2024 death of St. Louis City Police Officer David Lee.
Ramón Arnaldo Chávez-Rodríguez, 25, was driving intoxicated without a valid license when he drove his SUV into Officer Lee on Interstate 70. It happened near North Grand Avenue in St. Louis while the officer was investigating a traffic crash.
Chávez-Rodríguez was significantly over the legal blood alcohol limit and had cocaine and meth in his system when he struck the officer. He was driving 71 miles an hour in a 55 mile-per-hour zone. His blood alcohol concentration was still 0.10% two hours after the crash.
Lee, an 18-year veteran of the force, was transported to St. Louis University Hospital where he later died from his injuries, leaving behind a wife and two children.
“Officer Lee made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting his community. No sentence is sufficient to provide true justice for this completely preventable tragedy,” St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said.
“Reckless and impaired driving has devastating consequences, and our office will continue to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law,” Gore added.
At the time of Lee’s death, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt told The National News Desk that Chávez-Rodríguez should have been deported previously.
“It’s infuriating that the suspect in this case wasn’t deported years ago, as local media is reporting that he is allegedly an illegal alien who has faced domestic abuse and DWI charges in the past while out on bond for entering this country illegally,” Schmitt said.
In October 2020, Chávez-Rodríguez was charged with domestic assault and child endangerment after a violent drunken episode St. Charles County.
Court documents say he kicked in the door to a home in St. Peters and attacked a woman. He choked her, punched her in the face, and kicked her in the mouth. When she tried to call 911, he grabbed her phone and broke it in half so she couldn’t get help.
He then snatched an infant out of her arms and put the kid in the front seat of his car before speeding off. As the woman ran toward a police station to get away from him, he tried to hit her with his car, forcing her to jump into some bushes to save herself.
When the police found him later, he admitted he had been drinking, and court records noted that he was an illegal immigrant who was already out on bond at the time for entering the country illegally.
Schmitt also condemned prosecutors for not bringing a harsher sentence against the migrant previously.
“[Chavez-Rodriguez] was given a slap on the wrist and allowed to walk free after serious charges such as domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child were filed against him,” he said. “This tragedy could’ve been avoidable.”
Then-Attorney General Andrew Bailey weighed in on X the day Lee was struck.
“This devastating loss serves as a harsh reminder of the real consequences of a broken system that fails to protect our communities,” Bailey wrote.
