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On Wednesday, November 16, Nicholas Gutierrez mowed down an entire squad of Sheriff Department recruits, injuring 25. Many of them were seriously hurt. Initial reports noted suspicion of DUI. Gutierrez wasn’t impaired. He does have a lawyer, so they let him go without any charges on Thursday. Investigators are convinced that the 22-year-old drove into the men intentionally. They just want to make absolutely certain that they have enough evidence to put him away before they charge him with anything.
Recruits mowed down intentionally
Diamond Bar, California, resident Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was arrested at the scene in Whittier, after crashing into “a group of law enforcement recruits.” Authorities believe he did it “intentionally” but they turned him loose on Thursday evening, without filing any charges.
Alex Villanueva, Sheriff for Los Angeles County, wasn’t happy to tell reporters that they decided to let him go. “The suspect was only released until investigators can develop more evidence and present a stronger case for prosecutors,” he explained.
Their whole problem, as the suspect’s lawyer pointed out, is that they don’t have a single shred of evidence that it wasn’t an ordinary “accident,” only a whole bunch of circumstantial suspicion. Alexandra Kazarian is obviously not a public defender.
#Deputies #Recruits #LosAngeles https://t.co/7VNqLc6IgO
— Kilgore Trout (@Kilgore73862013) November 17, 2022
Police arrested Gutierrez on “suspicion of attempted murder on peace officers” but can’t make it stick. Despite 25 injured recruits, he “was released at 9:49 p.m. due to insufficient evidence a crime was committed.”
In a news release on Thursday, Sheriff Villanueva explained that “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.”
Everyone is pretty much convinced he plowed into the squad of recruits intentionally, because of the way the “attack” was carried out. Now, the cops need to prove it.
Floored it and veered across lanes
Just because Gutierrez was traveling at a high rate of speed, as he crossed over into oncoming traffic, doesn’t mean he meant to harm anyone. Smashing recruits without even tapping the brakes until he was stopped cold by a light pole doesn’t mean he meant to do it either.
According to a probably well-paid Ms. Kazarian, she has “no doubt that an in-depth investigation will confirm that Nicholas is a hard working young man who holds no animosity towards law enforcement, and this was an absolutely tragic accident.”
On Friday, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office didn’t get the case on their desk as expected. As Sheriff Villanueva keeps insisting, the suspect was only “provisionally” released as “investigators worked to build a stronger case.”
Nicholas Gutierrez, the 22-year-old driver accused of intentionally driving into a group of law-enforcement recruits in LA County, is back on the streets due to a possible lack of evidence. – Fox11 Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/VaPr22KHqI
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) November 18, 2022
The recruits won’t get justice unless the case is air tight. They want to “tie up all the loose ends on the case and then present it to the D.A.” Police are sure he meant to do it but the suspect has denied it all along.
The facts are the only thing that really matter. Early Wednesday morning, the recruits were out for their usual morning run along South Whittier area near Mills Avenue and Trumball Street. A total of around 75 were training that day, “when the driver veered onto the wrong side of the road and crashed into the group.”
A total of 25 aspiring deputies were hospitalized with injuries ranging from “head trauma to loss of limbs.” Five remain in critical condition. Witnesses relate “they heard the vehicle accelerating and it was going about 30 to 40 miles per hour before it crashed into a pole.“
