Breaking Digest reported Wednesday that more than twenty LA County sheriff recruits were injured after being struck by a wrong-way vehicle in Los Angeles.
The recruits were on a training run at about 6:30 am, accompanied by safety vehicles, when an SUV, going the wrong way down the street, plowed into them at about 30-40 mph. Recruits at the scene reported hearing the vehicle accelerate as it veered into the group of runners.
Authorities believe it was an intentional act.
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According to the sheriff’s office, at least 25 recruits were injured, five critically.
Injuries include head trauma, broken bones, and a “loss of limb,” according to Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
The driver, identified as 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, was immediately taken into custody. On Thursday he was booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer and was being held without bail.
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Sheriff Villanueva reported Thursday morning that investigators have “developed probable cause to believe it was intentional”.
“They went through an exhaustive interview process with everyone involved, with the video surveillance, the statements from the recruits, the physical evidence they have, and what they got from the suspect himself, and they were able to form the opinion this was a deliberate act,” said Villanueva.
Oddly, Thursday night Gutierrez was released from custody due to a “lack of evidence.”
In a press release, authorities said, “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.”
A breathalyzer test was administered at the scene, and Gutierrez blew a 0.0, and a field sobriety test was negative for obvious impairment.
Fox News reported:
California police officials have released the wrong-way driver accused of plowing his SUV into a group of police recruits and staff earlier this week, citing the “extreme complexity” of the ongoing case.
Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 22, was released from police custody late Thursday – just hours after officials announced that he had been charged with the attempted murder in connection with Wednesday’s devastating wrong-way wreck.
In a shocking reversal, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said early Friday morning that the agency had released Gutierrez just before 10 p.m. local time Thursday.
“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,” the agency said in a press release announcing the change.
The charge of attempted murder of a peace officer(s) requires evidence that the crime was intentional rather than that someone was mistaken or distracted or otherwise did not mean to commit the act.
According to local affiliate FOX 11 Los Angeles, Sheriff Alex Villanueva had previously said that investigators had gleaned enough to suspect intent.
“They did a thorough investigation. They interviewed dozens and dozens of witnesses and victims,” Villanueva said, according to the report. “That was the conclusion.”
