Texas cops let a man who violated his probation run free for nearly a year before they caught him — after he caused a crash that killed a mother of two while running from police in a stolen vehicle.
Sebastian Sanchez, 25, was given five years probation for violating a protective order against him twice in 2021, KRIV reported. But last year, he stopped bothering to check in with his probation officer, and prosecutors filed an adjudication of guilt. The judge signed off on that order last November, making Sanches a fugitive.
Houston officers located him in July, driving a stolen F-150. After a brief chase, officers were told to stand down, and Sanchez got clean away.
Then, last week, officers in Humble spotted Sanchez driving another stolen vehicle, KTRK reported. Multiple agencies engaged in a 30 minute pursuit, but Humble and Houston officers backed off when Sanchez began driving the wrong way on an Eastex Freeway feeder road. Montgomery County constables continued the pursuit, and Sanchez slammed head on into a car driven by Esoterica Spivey, 40.
Spivey, the mother of 8- and 9-year-old daughters, was killed. Her fiance, who was in the passenger seat, survived.
Sanchez has now been charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and given a $450,000 bond. But Spivey’s family thinks the Montgomery County constables should be held accountable.
“At the end of the day, their decision cost a life, and it was my child’s life,” Spivey’s mother, Deborah Davenport, said. “And at the end of the day, I’d like them to come forth, and I’d like them to apologize for their actions and then, we’ll take action.”
Andy Kahan of CrimeStoppers said the blame could go beyond the fatal crash.
“There were multiple opportunities to bring Sanchez into custody. I’ll argue to the day I die that those decisions led to the death of this innocent woman,” he told KRIV.
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[Featured image: Sebastian Sanchez/Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Esoterica Spivey/Facebook]
