Suspect, 21, arrested in death of Chelan County deputy
Jose Sanchez Guillen was taken into custody without incident about 2:30 a.m. at an abandoned trailer home near Connell, Franklin County, said Chief Criminal Deputy Mark Mann of the Chelan County Sheriff's Office.
The home was about 150 miles southeast of where Deputy Saul Gallegos was shot and killed Thursday night.
It was not immediately clear how long Sanchez had been at the residence.
A gun also was found in the single-wide trailer, Mann said, but it was not the deputy's .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic gun, which authorities thought Sanchez may have taken.
Mann said a second man apparently staying in the home came out when officers arrived and confirmed that Sanchez was inside. The man, whom authorities did not identify, was questioned and released.
Deputies negotiated through an interpreter with Sanchez for about 20 minutes before he came out, Mann said.
He said no shots were fired as Sanchez was taken into custody by a team of about 15 officers that included federal marshals and sheriff's officials from Chelan and Franklin counties.
Sanchez was arrested for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder, Mann said. A preliminary hearing to determine probable cause would likely be held by today, he said.
Mann said deputies had been working on several tips regarding Sanchez's whereabouts from people in the community. He would not divulge how authorities determined Sanchez had remained in the area, saying only that one of the tips led authorities to the abandoned trailer.
Mann said Sanchez had shaved his head and face since the shooting.
Gallegos, 35, had worked for the Sheriff's Office only since January.
He was shot Thursday evening while stopping a man suspected of driving with a suspended license. The young man pulled his car into a driveway on Highway 150 in Manson and tried to flee on foot, but Gallegos chased him and a struggle ensued, Mann said.
At least two shots were fired, he said, one striking Gallegos in the head. Ballistics and forensics tests are pending to determine whether Gallegos had been shot with his own gun or another weapon.
Meanwhile, Sanchez's 40-year-old mother, Maria Belen Guillen, was being held for investigation of rendering criminal assistance and an unrelated count of forgery. She had been driving a pickup Sanchez later was seen in.
Gallegos was married and had four young sons. He worked for the Chelan Police Department for seven years before joining the Sheriff's Office.
A memorial service for Gallegos will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Chelan High School gym.