Salinas gang member pleads guilty to assault

A Salinas man suspected of affiliation with the Norteno gang has pleaded guilty to assaulting a teen. The District Attorney’s Office says 39-year-old Louis Gutierrez committed the crime on behalf of the gang.

The assault happened on August 7, 2018, at an event called “National Night Out for Safety and Liberation” at a local skate park. Gutierrez was an event coordinator, but he was on active parole for attempted murder at the time.

The District Attorney’s Office says Gutierrez went up to a 14-year-old sitting on his bike, and he said to the teen, “You want to take a walk with me? I’ll beat you down in slacks G.” Gutierrez acted as if he were going to hit the victim, so he flinched and raised his arms to protect himself, and victim called Gutierrez a “b****.”

Gutierrez then walked away, and 21-year-old Richard Diaz ran up to the teen and began attacking him, saying, “You don’t call the big homie a b****, homie.” He hit the victim in the head and face with closed fists, knocking him off his bike and onto the ground. During the attack, Gutierrez was heard telling the crowd, “Let em, let em.”

Eventually, Gutierrez stopped the attack by saying, “Alright, you’re good, you’re good,” and Diaz stopped and walked away. Diaz told the victim, “You better f****** recognize where the f*** you’re at, homie.”

The attack was recorded on Snapchat video by witnesses and submitted to police.

Gutierrez is facing two years in prison for aiding and abetting the assault with gang enhancement. It is his third strike under the tree-strikes law, so the one-year term was doubled. He will be sentenced in September.

Diaz pleaded no contest to felony assault in April.