Judge rejects no-jail plea in case of man who plowed into L.A. County deputy recruits

"Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, withdrew the guilty plea he entered to vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Walton refused to accept the terms of the deal entered into last month. Gutierrez was supposed to receive a suspended sentence of eight years in prison, which he would serve only if he violated the terms of his five-year probation. Under that plea deal, Gutierrez was poised to avoid spending time behind bars. But after hearing victim impact statements Friday, Walton decided she would accept the deal only if Gutierrez served a year in county jail - a condition he rejected."

"In April, former Sheriff Alex Villanueva called the plea bargain "an insult to the families of those who died," and a "slap on the wrist that renders justice meaningless for the victims." L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman had said the plea marked a "step toward justice and a measure of closure for the victims," adding that it could not undo the devastation of that day. Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said that Hochman signed off on the conditions of the negotiated plea deal and that Sheriff Robert Luna was consulted on it."

"The November 2022 crash happened after Gutierrez fell asleep while driving to work in South Whittier, his attorney, Alexandra Kazarian previously told The Times. While Villanueva alleged the crash was an intentional attack on law enforcement at the time, no evidence surfaced to support that. In court Friday, Kazarian said her client suffered from an undiagnosed neurological disorder and may have experience"

Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez, 25, withdrew a guilty plea for vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge refused to accept the terms of a negotiated plea deal. The deal would have resulted in a suspended eight-year prison sentence, with time served only if he violated five years of probation. After victim impact statements, the judge required that he serve one year in county jail, a condition he rejected. Gutierrez is now headed to trial. The November 2022 wrong-way crash killed one Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recruit and seriously injured others. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials discussed the plea conditions, and no evidence supported claims that the crash was an intentional attack. His attorney cited an undiagnosed neurological disorder.

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