Illegal immigrant accused in Missouri police officer murder has previous convictions

At the time of the crash, he was on probation in St. Charles County in 2020 for a second-degree domestic violence charge, the outlet reported. He also had a previous drunken driving charge on his record, KSDK reported.

Lee was outside his car on eastbound Interstate 70 around 8:30 a.m., pulling traffic cones out of his trunk to direct motorists away from a crashed vehicle on the side of the road, St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a news conference.

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According to the probable cause statement, Chavez-Rodriguez was speeding nearly 20 miles per hour when he lost control of his 2019 Kia Sorrento. His car spun, pinning Lee between his car and the patrol car. Lee was then thrown several feet.

The driver of the first vehicle to crash, an off-duty firefighter, risked her life when she ran from her vehicle to help Lee, Tracy said. She grabbed his walkie-talkie and radioed for help.

The St. Louis Fire Department arrived at the scene and took Lee to St. Louis University Hospital – but the 44-year-old died on the operating table.

Chavez-Rodriguez, who appeared visibly impaired, did not flee the scene and was arrested without incident, Tracy said. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.10% about two hours after the crash.

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Officer David Lee, 44, was a police officer with the traffic division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for four years. He leaves behind his wife and children. (St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department)

The St. Louis District Attorney's Office charged the 24-year-old migrant with drunken driving causing death while serving police or emergency personnel, exceeding the speed limit and operating a vehicle on a highway without a valid driver's license.

Although Chavez-Rodriguez's immigration status has no bearing on the charges against him, St. Louis District Attorney Gabe Gore told Fox 2 Now, “It does impact our assessment of whether he is a flight risk or a danger to the community and whether he is someone who should be granted bail.”

St. Charles County Attorney Joe McCulloch said the Department of Homeland Security “was informed that [Chavez-Rodriguez] was arrested, he was charged and [that] he was in this country illegally.”

“The answer is that they will not issue a warrant – and a warrant is something that would tell us to hold him until they could get him – but they would not do that because he was already in the system in 2020 when [his earlier arrest on domestic violence charges] happened,” McCulloch told Fox 2 Now.

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Lee leaves behind his wife and children – Tracy said he served in the traffic division of the St. Louis Metro Police Department for the past four years.

“We want to see this man held accountable,” Tracy said. “We want to make sure he is brought to justice.”

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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told Fox News Digital that “this devastating loss is a harsh reminder of the true consequences of the Biden-Harris administration's refusal to secure the border.”

“My heart breaks for the family, friends and colleagues of David Lee, a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer who was senselessly killed in the line of duty by an illegal immigrant who was driving while intoxicated,” Bailey said. “We will honor his service by ensuring justice and safety for all.”

“Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration's open borders policy, every state, including Missouri, is a border state,” Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley said in a statement. “Officer Lee's death is a tragedy. And it was entirely preventable. We must act quickly to close our border and prevent further senseless acts of violence against Americans.”

Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.