Manhunt Extends From Washington To Mexico

Share

By By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

Police still looking for Jose Sanchez Guillen, accused of killing Chelan deputy Saul Gallegos.

Story Published: Jun 26, 2003 at 5:52 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 11:22 AM PDT

Manhunt Extends From Washington To Mexico
CHELAN COUNTY - A manhunt from Washington to Mexico was under way Friday for a 21-year-old sought in the death of a Chelan County sheriff's deputy.

Authorities were looking for Jose Sanchez Guillen of Manson, who is considered armed and dangerous, and may have fled with the deputy's .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic gun, said Mark Mann, chief criminal deputy for the Chelan County sheriff's office.

Police released a photo of Sanchez-Guillen, but say he has since shaved his head and has a goatee.

Deputy Saul Gallegos, 35, was shot once in the head after making a traffic stop Thursday evening in the town of Manson on Lake Chelan, Mann said.

Ballistics tests were pending to determine if Gallegos had been shot with his own gun or another weapon, Mann said.

The Chelan County prosecutor's office was preparing an arrest warrant for Sanchez for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder, and the U.S. Marshals Service was doing the paperwork for a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Mann said.

Gallegos, who had worked for the sheriff's office only since January, stopped Sanchez on Thursday evening for investigation of driving with a suspended license.

Sanchez pulled his car into a driveway on Washington 150, got out and ran up a hill. Gallegos chased Sanchez, caught him and the two struggled, Mann said.

At least two shots were fired, Mann said, one striking Gallegos in the head.

"By all indications it was one hell of a struggle," Mann said.

An hour later, Gallegos' supervisor, sheriff's Sgt. Lew Clark, stood at the scene with tears in his eyes. He described Gallegos as soft-spoken and kind.

"It just makes no sense," Clark told The Wenatchee World. "It certainly doesn't add up to the kind of situation that occurred."

Police learned of the shooting at 6:11 p.m. Thursday, when a citizen screamed into Gallegos' patrol car radio that a deputy was in trouble, Mann said.

Mann said Sanchez left the scene in a Mercury Sable automobile, and later was seen in a late-model white Chevrolet pickup truck.

The truck was spotted southbound on U.S. 97A near Entiat and later on Washington 28 in East Wenatchee, where a witness reported seeing Sanchez in the passenger seat.

Police arrested Sanchez's mother, who was driving the truck at 3 a.m. Friday in Wenatchee. The 40-year-old Manson woman, whose name was not released, was being held in the Chelan County jail for investigation of rendering criminal assistance and an unrelated count of forgery, Mann said.

U.S. marshals, the FBI, immigration officials and police departments in Western states were advised to be on the lookout for Sanchez.

"We've got a fairly well-cast net all the way down the West Coast and into northern Mexico," Mann said. "We just hope it works."

Authorities were searching for two vehicles: a white Ford Explorer registered to Sanchez's mother with a Washington license plant 275 HIO, and a white 1994 Chevrolet sedan registered to Sanchez's aunt in Warden.

The case is scheduled to be featured on the television show, "America's Most Wanted," on Saturday night.

Before joining the sheriff's office, Gallegos worked for the Chelan Police Department for seven years.

He served for six years in the Army Reserves and worked as a detention officer at the Chelan County Juvenile Center before joining the Chelan Police Department in 1995. In 1997, he was Chelan's police officer of the year.

Within the sheriff's office, Gallegos was known for his diplomacy, Clark said.

"He was the kind of a person that you would like to have come to with a problem - if you had a problem," Clark said. "He's a special guy."

Gallegos was the first Chelan County deputy to be shot and killed in the line of duty, said Sheriff Mike Harum.

Flags at Chelan County buildings were flown at half staff Friday in memory of Gallegos, who is survived by his wife, Maria, and four sons - 8-year-old twins, a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old.

A trust account from the Gallegos family has been set up at Cashmere Valley Bank. Those that don't have a branch nearby can mail a donation to:

Gallegos Account
c/o Cashmere Valley Bank
P.O. Box G
Cashmere, WA 98815

Be sure to put the name of the family on the check and envelope.