The trial of Gustavo Perez Arriaga, an illegal alien accused of murdering California police officer Ronil Singh in late 2018, has again been delayed. The judge cited the pandemic but politics are also in play in the case, which drew international attention.

Ronil “Ron” Singh, 33, was a legal immigrant from Fiji who came to the United States to become a police officer, an in the central valley town of Newman, Singh drew praise from fellow officers and residents alike. On December 26, 2018, Singh pulled over a suspected drunk driver, who drew a weapon and fatally shot the officer. The shooter fled, with aid from other illegals.

Police tracked down and arrested Gustavo Perez Arriaga, also known as Paulo Virgen Mendoza, a Mexican gang member illegally present in the United States. Police also arrested seven of the suspect’s friends and family members who aided his flight. The case landed with Stanislaus County judge Ricardo Cordova, a curious choice given the immigration status of the defendant.

The UC Davis law grad spent 16 years with California Rural Legal Assistance, which gets most of its funding from the Legal Services Corporation and specializes in helping illegals. Cordova became a public defender and in 2003 Democrat Gov. Gray Davis appointed the CRLA vet as a judge.

Perez Arriaga pleaded not guilty and Cordova scheduled a preliminary hearing for December 10, 2019. In November, as the Modesto Bee reported, Cordova set the hearing for March 10, 2020 but delayed until June, when the case was judged worthy of a first-degree murder charge. Cordova set a trial date for September 1, 2020, which raised an issue.

Key witnesses Conrado Virgen Arriaga, Adrian Virgen, and Erik Razo Quiroz had already been convicted for aiding Perez Arriaga’s flight. They had hidden the suspect’s truck, disposed of his stolen Smith and Wesson handgun, and helped move the suspect to the Bakersfield location where he was arrested.

By September the three convicted illegals would be facing deportation to Mexico and further delay could render them unable to testify. In late August, Cordova granted the defense request to move the trial to “a date yet to be determined” possibly in January 2021, long after the November election. If Californians thought that was the real reason for the delay it would be hard to blame them. The murder of police officer Ronil Singh refutes the Democrat profile of those illegally present in the United States.

Illegals use false documents but Democrats call them “undocumented.” Illegals are portrayed as wonderful people who only want to be brain surgeons and help baby pandas. As the cases of Ronil Singh, Kate Steinle, Brian Ishmael, Danny Oliver and many others confirm, illegals can also be violent criminals. California protects them through the state’s sanctuary law authored by then-Senate boss Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat.

“Under Senate Bill 54,” De Leon claimed in 2017, “local police officers will maintain the trust of immigrant communities that has been carefully nurtured, the trust that is so important to our safety.” As the murder of Ronil Singh confirms, the opposite is true. Perez Arriaga’s friends and relatives, false-documented illegals who also enjoyed the protection of sanctuary laws, helped the suspect flee from the police.

While Arriaga was still on the run, President Trump tweeted, “There is right now a full scale manhunt going on in California for an illegal immigrant accused of shooting and killing a police officer during a traffic stop. Time to get tough on Border Security. Build the Wall!” That ensured that Democrats would do their best to bury the case, which they ignored from the start.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra and governor-elect Gavin Newsom, both supporters of California’s sanctuary law, did not attend the funeral of police officer Ronil Singh, who left behind wife Amika and an infant son. Becerra and Newsom have not  publicly decried the officer’s murder as an example of “gun violence.” Contrast that with Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson.

“While we absolutely need to stay focused on officer Singh’s service and sacrifice, we can’t ignore the fact that this could’ve been preventable,” Christianson told reporters. “And under SB54 in California, based on two arrests for DUI and some other active warrants that this criminal has out there, law enforcement would’ve been prevented, prohibited from sharing any information with ICE about this criminal gang member. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not how you protect a community.”

Judge Ricardo Cordova, formerly of California Rural Legal Assistance, has kicked the case into 2021, long after the election. Perez Arriaga, also known as Pablo Virgen Mendoza, is eligible for the death penalty but even if found guilty the criminal gang member need not worry. Last year Gov. Newsom reprieved 737 convicted murderers, including  Luis Bracamontes, who in 2014 murdered Sacramento police officers Danny Oliver and Michael Davis, and said in court he wished he had killed more cops.

In the sanctuary state of California, criminal illegals who take the lives of police officers can be sure of keeping their own. Justice delayed for Ronil Singh is justice denied.