A twice-deported illegal immigrant who led police on chase that ended in a wreck in Mound House was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 21 years in prison.
District Judge James Wilson sentenced Orasio Gutierrez-Murillo, 25, to
12 to 30 months for possession of a stolen vehicle, 28 to 70 months for felony eluding, and 60 to 150 months for DUI causing substantial bodily injury. All counts were ordered to run consecutively.
Gutierrez-Murillo pleaded guilty in April.
"This man put dozens of people in harm's way. He drove past day-care centers, through residential neighborhoods, onto the lawn of our community center, and ended up seriously injuring two innocent people. It's a miracle no one was killed," said District Attorney Neil Rombardo in a statement.
On Oct. 15, two days after a Toyota Land Cruiser went missing from Woodside Drive, the owner saw it nearby in the Taco Bell drive-through and called police.
When police attempted to stop Gutierrez-Murillo, he led police on a slow-speed chase through town, driving onto the community center lawn and ramming a patrol vehicle in his bid to escape, according to court documents. But on Highway 50 East, he exceeded 75 mph, police reports indicate.
Lyon County deputies were racing toward him to put out spike strips when the Land Cruiser slammed into another car in Mound House, injuring two occupants. Both were taken from the scene by helicopter and have since recovered from their injuries.
Gutierrez-Murillo ran from the scene and had to be Tasered.
He had a bag of methamphetamine in his pants pocket and told a paramedic that he had ingested methamphetamine five hours earlier. A blood draw taken at the hospital revealed methamphetamine in his system.
Gutierrez-Murillo's record indicates he had been deported twice, once by Reno Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in May 2008. It's not clear when he returned to the U.S.