Two illegal aliens have been found guilty of helping another illegal alien evade arrest after he allegedly murdered 33-year-old Newman, California, Police Officer Ronil Singh.
The day after Christmas, Singh pulled Gustavo Perez Arriaga over on suspicion of drunk driving. That is when police say the illegal alien shot Singh. Over his police radio, Singh called out, “Shots fired,” and as police arrived at the scene of the traffic stop, they found the officer with a gunshot wound.
Singh was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died, leaving behind his wife, Anamika; their newborn five-month-old son; and the mourning Newman community.
Perez Arriaga was arrested in December 2018 for the killing of Singh — a legal immigrant from Fiji — but was officially charged with the murder of the law enforcement officer in January 2019. The illegal alien, who authorities said is a “known” gang member, had been caught by police after a more than 50-hour manhunt. Police said seven illegal alien friends and family members, all of whom were indicted, aided Perez Arriaga in attempting to flee the U.S.
This week, Perez Arriaga’s brother, 34-year-old illegal alien Conrado Virgen Arriaga, and Perez Arriaga’s co-worker, 35-year-old illegal alien Erik Razo Quiroz, were both convicted by a federal jury for helping Perez Arriaga evade arrest with a plan to escape charges by fleeing to his native Mexico.
33-year-old Ronil Singh sits next to a Christmas tree and a law enforcement flag alongside his K-9 police dog, Sam, on Christmas, the day before his death. (SCSD)
Virgen Arriaga and Quiroz are set to be sentenced in January 2020 and are each facing up to five years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine.
The affidavit of the alleged murder and attempted escape detailed a family affair, where Perez Arriaga’s pickup truck — which police found with a bullet hole — had been covered up in a family member’s garage with plywood allegedly by Virgen Arriaga and Quiroz.
Perez Arriaga’s gun that he allegedly used to murder Singh was purchased just two months before, according to the suspect’s girlfriend. The 9mm Smith & Wesson gun was stolen out of Washington state, police said. The suspect’s girlfriend told police that after the illegal alien told her he had shot a police officer, she packed three changes of clothes for him.
The affidavit alleges that Perez Arriaga, his brother, and co-worker planned to go to a construction site for a job following the murder but instead headed to their uncle’s Stockton, California, ranch, where they were asked to leave by the aunt and uncle.
In the meantime, police said Quiroz threw Perez Arriaga’s gun in a trash can at the ranch.
Perez Arriaga’s brother Adrian Virgen then picked him up and took him and the co-worker to an aunt’s house in Buttonwillow, California, to stay for the night. The next day, the aunt asked them to leave after finding out that her nephew was wanted for murder, the affidavit claims.
Virgen said he lied to his aunt’s husband in order to get him to loan him $400, which Perez Arriaga then allegedly wire transferred to a human smuggler at the U.S.-Mexico border to help him escape the country. The smuggler was the same one that Virgen had used four years before to cross into the country illegally.
The suspect’s brother then took him to the home of family members Bernabe Madrigal Castaneda and Maria Luisa Moreno in Bakersfield, California, where they stayed for a night. Castaneda and Virgen bought the suspect a new cell phone to use at a nearby Metro PCS store while the suspect’s co-worker Erasmo Villegas brought him a change of clothes, the affidavit alleges.
A $500 wire transfer was made by an unknown source, as well, to help the suspect escape to Mexico through the southern border. Before he could flee the country as he allegedly planned, Perez Arriaga surrendered at the relatives’ home when the Kern County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrived on December 28 to take him into custody.
In April, Perez Arriaga pleaded not guilty to murdering Singh. The illegal alien is eligible for the death penalty, though prosecutors have yet to confirm whether they will seek the death penalty in the murder trial.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.