Suspect In Deputy Killing Held Without Bail

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By By KOMO Staff & News Services

Summary

Jose Sanchez Guillen's arraignment will be scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks.

Story Published: Jun 30, 2003 at 1:56 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 28, 2009 at 1:47 PM PDT

Suspect In Deputy Killing Held Without Bail
WENATHCEE - The man accused of killing a Chelan County sheriff's deputy made his first court appearance, and the slain officer's brother, Al Gallegos, was there, too.

Gallegos' older brother, Deputy Saul Gallegos, was shot during a traffic stop last week. On Tuesday, hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the state gathered at a memorial service at the Chelan High School gymnasium for the married father of four boys.

Jose Sanchez Guillen, 21, of Manson, was ordered held without bail Monday by Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges. Arraignment will be scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks, the court clerk's office said.

Sanchez was booked into the Chelan County jail Sunday for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder in the June 26 fatal shooting.

If the charge stands, the aggravating factor - the fatal shooting of a police officer - could prompt prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The only other penalty for that crime in Washington is life imprisonment without hope of parole.

"I don't see the death penalty benefiting anybody," Al Gallegos said. "I mean, he also has a family as well, and I don't see that's really going to be any justice for them."

Chelan County Prosecutor Gary Riesen said the family's wishes would be considered, along with other factors.

Gallegos, 35, of Chelan, was shot once in the head after he pulled Sanchez over in Manson for investigation of driving without a license. Forensics and ballistics tests, which could take a couple of weeks, will determine if Gallegos was shot with his service weapon, a .40-caliber Glock.

Sanchez was arrested Sunday at a vacant trailer in Connell in Franklin County, about 150 miles southeast of Manson.

Connell Police Chief Rick Rochleau said his office received a call for assistance about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

"We got a lot of people out of bed very quickly," he said.

More than 20 law enforcement officers took part in the raid led by the Chelan County sheriff's office and the U.S. Marshals Service. Sanchez was arrested without incident.

Gallegos' family was relieved.

"It's just kind of closed one chapter, and now it's going to let us focus on the healing," Al Gallegos told The Wenatchee World.

On Monday, bail was set at $10,000 for Sanchez's mother, Maria Belen Guillen, 40, a Mexican national who lives in Manson. She was booked into the Chelan County Jail on Friday for investigation of rendering criminal assistance in the case and an unrelated count of forgery.

"But I'm not guilty," she told Bridges. "I'm a single parent, and I have two children to support."

"Ma'am, you'll need to discuss that with your attorney," said Bridges, who had appointed a public defender to represent her.

Deputies said she was seen driving a pickup truck with her son as a passenger after the shooting, but she told Wenatchee police that she had not seen her son since mid-afternoon Thursday.

Court papers also say that she had "an obviously forged resident alien identification card" in her purse.

Chelan County Prosecutor Gary Riesen said charges would be filed by Wednesday.

Al Gallegos said he was trying to be grateful for the 35 years the family had Saul, the oldest of five children. He and his sister, Carla, said it never occurred to them that their brother faced any danger in the small communities along Lake Chelan.

"I thought he had a safe job in Chelan," Al Gallegos told the Wenatchee newspaper. "We never really worried about it."