EASLEY, S.C. (WSPA) – The State Law Enforcement Division has charged the woman Easley Police Officer Matthew Hare was attempting to assist when he was struck by a train on Wednesday.
Gabrielle Alexis Benites, 25, was charged by SLED with aggravated breach of peace. According to warrants released by SLED, Benites was drunk and attempting to harm herself when she trespassed on an active railroad and laid down on the tracks.
“Breach of Peace in a high and aggravated nature is not a charge we see often,” Brandi Hinton, an attorney unaffiliated with the case, said. “It is rarely used.”
Hare was one of two officers called to assist Benites, who resisted officers’ efforts to get her off the train track. SLED said as a result of Benites’ actions Hare was hit by an oncoming train and died.
“Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to criminal charges,” Hinton said. “That will not be specifically something that she is allowed to use. We will have to see what the interplay is between mental illness and voluntary intoxication.”
“If the incident occurs in public and the defendant’s actions result in the death of another and that death causes distress to members of the community and causes a disruption to the public at large then the elements of a Breach of Peace of a high and aggravated nature have been met,” Hinton said.
Benites is currently being held in the Pickens County Detention Center on a $30,000 bond, and SLED said there could be more charges filed against her in the future.
