San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
No bail for suspect in officer’s slaying — 2 more arrested
A 32-year-old man who led authorities on a statewide manhunt after allegedly fatally shooting a Stanislaus County police officer was being held without bail Saturday at a facility in Modesto on a murder charge, according to jail records.
Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an immigrant in the country illegally with gang affiliations and past arrests for drunken driving, was taken into custody just outside Bakersfield for the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said.
On Friday evening, authorities announced they also arrested Arriaga’s 34-year-old brother, Conrado Virgen Mendoza, in Livermore and his 30-year-old girlfriend, Ana Leyde Cervantes, in Turlock. Bail for each was set at $25,000, according to jail records.
In all, seven people are in custody on suspicion of aiding Arriaga in what investigators said was his attempt to escape to Mexico. The others are Bernabe Madrigal Casteneda, 59; Erasmo Villegas, 36; Maria Luisa Moreno, 57; Arriaga’s 25-yearold brother, Adrian Virgen; and a co-worker, Erik Razo Quiroz, 27, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff ’s Department.
“They intentionally lied to us,” Christianson said of Virgen and Quiroz. “They provided information that was false, all in an attempt to protect their brother.”
The incident unfolded about 1 a.m. Wednesday after Singh left his 5-month-old son and his wife, Anamika, at their home in Modesto.
Singh pulled Arriaga over for a suspected DUI violation. The owner of Newman Food Store, Yoon Kim, said Arriaga had purchased two 12-packs of beer shortly before the time when investigators said he was stopped.
Within minutes of pulling Arriaga over, Singh announced “shots fired” on his police radio. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
“He loved being a police officer,” Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson said Thursday, holding back tears. “He loved being a husband. He loved being a father.”
A vigil was held for the corporal Friday night in Newman.
At a news conference earlier Friday, Christianson echoed President Trump’s calls for stricter border security. He criticized the state’s sanctuary policy, which prohibits local law enforcement from notifying or sharing detained immigrants’ information with federal immigration agents when they are not accused of serious crimes.
“The outcome could have been different if law enforcement wasn’t restricted, prohibited, or had their hands tied because of political interference,” Christianson said about Arriaga’s encounter with Singh.
Arriaga was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Madera County on June 5, 2014 — several years before the state’s sanctuary law prohibited local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.