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Police have identified the owner of the SUV that hit and killed Phoenix Police Officer Daryl Raetz on Sunday.
The problem is, at the time of this post, neither the owner of that SUV, 24-year-old Jesus Cabrera Molina, nor anyone else has been charged in Raetz’s death.
See also:
–Phoenix Cop Daryl Raetz Killed by Hit-and-Run SUV-Driving Scum
Officer Raetz and his partner were finishing up at the scene of a DUI stop around 3:30 a.m. Sundaty near 51st Avenue and Cambridge (south of Thomas), when Raetz was struck by a vehicle.
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The driver who hit Raetz proceeded to drive away, and Raetz, just 29 years old, died after being transported to a hospital.
Cops in Surprise spotted the SUV a little after 1 p.m. Sunday being driven by Molina.
The housings on brake lights and headlights of the green Ford Expedition were tinted, matching the description of the SUV that hit Raetz in Phoenix. Parts recovered from the crime scene matched parts missing from Molina’s SUV, according to court documents obtained by New Times.
Although Molina’s father told police that Molina’s the only one who drives the SUV, police haven’t been able to definitively say that Molina was driving the vehicle when it hit Raetz.
Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson tells us that no one’s been arrested in Raetz’s death, now more than 24 hours after Molina’s arrest.
Further, court documents note that another officer saw this vehicle 90 minutes after it hit Raetz, and this officer has since identified Molina as the guy he saw driving.
Police do have access to Molina, even though he hasn’t been charged in Raetz’s death, because when he stepped out of the SUV yesterday during the traffic stop in Surprise, a bag of cocaine fell out of his pocket, according to the court documents.
He’s in the country illegally, so he’s being held in jail without bond due to Proposition 100.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
