Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez Released After Arrest In Deputy Recruit Crash

After being detained on charges of attempted murder of peace officers in connection with a crash that injured 25 recruits on a training run on Wednesday, Nov.16, in South Whittier, a 22-year-old Diamond Bar man was freed on Thursday, Nov. 17, night, said reports.

According to jail records, Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was released at 9:49 p.m. on Wednesday and his first arrest was classified as detention. The records cite California Penal Code 849(b)(1), which authorizes police to release arrestees from custody without first being arraigned if there are insufficient grounds to make a criminal complaint.

Once investigators have built a case, they plan to arrest Gutierrez and present the case to the L.A. County district attorney’s office, Sgt. Gerardo Magos said.

“The evidence is there,” he said. “We just want to make sure it’s properly presented.”

Around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, close to the sheriff's STARS Center Academy on the 10600 block of Mills Avenue, the recruits were running in four columns when a Honda CRV allegedly crashed into the crowd.

Witnesses have estimated he was going between 30 and 40 mph.

On Thursday, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in an interview that investigators “have developed probable cause to believe it was intentional.”

Villanueva said witnesses said the area “looked like an airplane wreck.”

“There were so many bodies scattered everywhere in different states of injury that it was pretty traumatic for all individuals involved,” he said.

Authorities allegedly found weed in Gutierrez's car and are trying to determine if he was high at the time, the LA Times reported, citing a source familiar with the investigation.

A Breathalyzer test was administered at the scene and authorities found no evidence of alcohol, Villanueva said, noting that the driver “blew a 0.0.”

Following the collision, more than a dozen recruits suffered mild to moderate injuries, while five recruits were in critical condition.

Seven recruits, according to Villanueva, remained hospitalized Thursday night. Five were in observation, and two remained in critical condition. One underwent surgery for extensive leg fractures.

Gutierrez was detained at the scene by other cadets. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon.

He declined to answer when he was confronted by a reporter who asked, “Why did you run into the recruits?” as he returned to his home in Diamond Bar, said reports.