The driver accused of plowing through a large group of 75 law enforcement recruits in Los Angeles County on Wednesday has been named, charged, and released. Investigators now believe the incident to have been intentional.
In a statement on Nov. 17, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department indicated that 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Gutierrez was charged with attempted murder on peace officers and that additional charges were pending.
CNN reported that while investigators have strong suspicions that the suspect meant to inflict harm on the recruits, they first need to shore up those suspicions with substantial evidence.
Since the department is usually required to present a case to the district attorney within 48 hours of a suspect’s arrest, they provisionally cut Gutierrez loose after his initial arrest. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gutierrez’s original arrest was deemed a detention.
LASD Deputy Deanna Mares told CNN: “It’s not like they arrested the wrong suspect. … They just want to make sure the investigation is going to be complete.”
Sgt. Gerardo Magos similarly suggested that there was ample evidence but that law enforcement just wanted “to make sure it’s properly presented. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva suggested that part of the reason investigators are taking more time is that they don’t trust the leftist district attorney to do his job.
The sheriff told NewsNation, “We operate under prosecutor George Gascón. We definitely have grave concerns about his ability to prosecute. We are actually going to provisionally release him (Gutierrez) until we can have the case ironclad, 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.” Gutierrez is reportedly due in court on Friday. (READ MORE)
