NORWALK, Calif. (AP) Two brothers pleaded guilty Tuesday to
charges connected with a police pursuit in which another man was
killed after pointing a gun at officers.
Richard Rafael Gutierrez, 23, pleaded guilty to felony evading,
robbery, assault with a firearm and shooting at an occupied
vehicle. His brother, John Joseph Gutierrez, 19, pleaded guilty to
robbery, assault with a firearm and personal use of a firearm.
The incident began about 5:30 p.m. on July 2, 2002, when two men
armed with handguns held up a public storage facility in South Gate
and fled into a waiting sport utility vehicle.
A witness to the holdup followed the car, but pulled back when
he was shot at. He later flagged down a Los Angeles County
sheriff's deputy, who continued the pursuit.
The car stopped about an hour later on Interstate 5, after a
tire disintegrated and the vehicle caught fire. The suspects got
out and one of them, 18-year-old Michael Bilderrain, pointed a gun
at police. Officers opened fire and fatally struck him, said Jane
Robison of the district attorney's office. Bilderrain later was
pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The car fire and shooting prompted officials to close the
freeway in both directions.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)