Ex-boyfriend in prison offers COVID check to hitman to kill woman, Utah officials say
A Utah man faces charges after police said he tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend while he was incarcerated.
Lorenzo Gutierrez, 28, of Salt Lake City, was charged with two counts, criminal solicitation to commit aggravated murder and criminal solicitation to commit murder, on Wednesday at Utah’s Third District Court.
Gutierrez planned to pay for the killings with $10,000 in cash, black heroin and “clear” meth. He also offered his COVID-19 stimulus check, a firearm and his car title as a down payment, according to charging documents
From April until August 2020, Gutierrez made murder-for-hire plans while he faced other burglary and stalking charges, according to charging documents. The stalking charges involved his former girlfriend with whom he has a child.
His plan began while he was incarcerated at the Salt Lake County Jail and pending a transfer to prison. He asked another incarcerated person if he knew anyone who could follow through with the killings. Unknown to him, the person informed police, court documents show.
Deputies from the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office then placed a recording device in Gutierrez’s cell where he was later heard telling his cellmate, who was a police informant, that he wanted to “smoke” and “stomp out” his ex-girlfriend and other people, according to court documents.
He wanted the killing to be done — with video or photo proof — while he was in jail so he wouldn’t be a suspect, court documents show.
The informant connected him with a supposed hitman who was actually an undercover agent with the Utah Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gutierrez made several phone calls to the agent and tried to connect him with his friend for payment, according to court documents.
When the mother of his child served him with custody papers in late June, he urged the hitman to get the plan coordinated with his friend because “he was not happy about it,” court documents state.
Gutierrez was then transferred to Utah State Prison. He started to finalize his plan by sending a letter to his friend detailing what he wanted done, though it’s unclear if the letter had murder plans. He also tried to initiate payment through his friend, court documents show.
Prosecutors requested Gutierrez be held without bail because of the felony charges and past domestic violence convictions related to his former girlfriend.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Ex-boyfriend in prison offers COVID check to hitman to kill woman, Utah officials say."
