DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

AROUND THE COUNTRY
LAS ANGELES, CA
Driver who plowed his SUV into a group of LASD Recruits, was arrested
and then released due to a lack of evidence, says he fell asleep.
By Hunter Lee
The Orange County Register
LOS ANGELES, CA — A 22-yearold
Diamond Bar driver was arrested
on suspicion of attempted
murder of one or more peace officers
for plowing into 75 cadets
out for a training run in South
Whittier on Wednesday morning,
and then released a day later
when Sheriff Alex Villanueva
stated they didn’t have enough
evidence to charge him.
The Sheriff’s Department said
Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was
arrested by deputies just after
3 p.m. the day of the collision
and added in its Thursday statement
that more charges could be
added.
Gutierrez, authorities had said,
was behind the wheel of a SUV
and on his way to work, suffering
minor injuries in the crash.
Then later on Thursday, citing
the need for further investigation,
authorities released Gutierrez
from custody.
“Due to the extreme complexity
of the investigation, which
includes ongoing interviews,
video surveillance review, and
additional evidence needed to be
analyzed, homicide investigators
have released Mr. Gutierrez from
the Sheriff’s Department custody
today at approximately 9:55 PM,”
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department said in a statement.
Authorities identified Gutierrez
as the driver of an SUV that
veered onto the wrong side of
the road early Wednesday in the
suburban Whittier area, where
a sheriff’s academy facility is
located.
Seventy-five recruits for the
sheriff’s department and other
law enforcement agencies were
on a routine run in formation
through the area. Five of the recruits
were critically injured and
two remained in critical condition
Thursday afternoon, according
to the department.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva told
NewsNation earlier Thursday that
investigators believe the crash
was a “deliberate act” and that
there was probable cause to
make the arrest.
But he said Gutierrez was going
to be “provisionally” released
“until we can have the case iron
clad, iron proof, and submitted
to the DA for filing consideration.
Right now, we want to tie up all
the loose ends on the case and
then present it to the DA.”
It will be up to the county district
attorney to decide whether
Gutierrez will be charged and for
what offense.
“The Sheriff’s Department
would like to thank the Los Angeles
County Fire Department,
the California Highway Patrol,
the incredible medical staffs
who are caring for our injured
personnel, the other agencies
that assisted in this investigation,
and the outpouring of love and
support we have experienced
from the community.”
The entire class of 75 cadets,
mostly Sheriff’s Department
recruits but some in line to get
hired by other Southern California
police agencies, were
jogging in four columns on
Telegraph Road, heading toward
Mills Avenue, just before 6:25
a.m.
Two sheriff’s patrol cars were
alongside to protect them from
traffic as they ran in the street,
the sheriff has said. The class
went north on Mills, merging
from four columns into two. The
patrol cars let them pass and
went to the rear.
That’s when the SUV, going
southbound on Mills at about 20
to 30 miles per hour, suddenly
veered into the opposite lane
and collided with the cadets.
Some recruits said that the driver
continued accelerating before
smashing into a light pole and
coming to a halt, a sheriff’s captain
has said.
In an interview with the LA
Times, Gutierrez’s attorney Alexandra
Kazarian, said Gutierrez
was traveling in a Honda CR-V
on Wednesday morning to his
job as an electrical engineer for
a solar panel company. his attorney.
Gutierrez, who wakes for
work at 5 a.m., had been up late
the night before, she said.
“He’s a good kid that fell
asleep on his way to work early
in the morning,” Kazarian said.
Gutierrez comes from a law
enforcement family, Kazarian
said. His father is a retired
corrections officer, and he has
uncles in the Los Angeles Police
Department, the California
Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s
Department.
“He harbors absolutely no
animosity toward law enforcement,”
Kazarian said. She added
that reports that Gutierrez was a
disgruntled academy recruit are
“completely incorrect.” He “never
had any association with being a
recruit,” she said.
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