Driver on probation, without license, accused of DUI in church crash

SALT LAKE CITY — After a car crashed into a church building on Sunday night, the driver is now facing DUI and domestic violence property damage charges. Further, KSL obtained court documents that show the man had been a consistent threat to public safety since at least 2022.

Gabriel Manuel Gutierrez, 20, was arrested Sunday night after police said he drove his car into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building on 3120 W. 4700 South in West Valley City. A probable cause statement showed Gutierrez was driving a car with his ex-girlfriend sitting in the passenger seat. The arresting officer spoke with both of them.

“They’d gotten into an argument over them texting other people and there was a grappling over phones in the car,” the officer wrote.

Car crashes into church in West Valley City

Gutierrez told the officer he had two phones on his lap. He grabbed one of them and threw it out of the window, but told the officer he didn’t know it was his ex-girlfriend’s. It was later found on the roadway, cracked and inoperable.

Gutierrez told the officer his ex-girlfriend grabbed the steering wheel at that point and drove them into the church, the statement says.

“The girlfriend denied having done this and stated she did not know how they ended up in the church,” the officer wrote. “Based on different statements and no evidence to show what happened, I was unable to substantiate (Gutierrez’s) claim that the girlfriend steered them into the church, rather than him losing control of the vehicle.”

The ex-girlfriend told the officer she and Gutierrez had been drinking and that between 1 and 5 p.m., he had consumed almost an entire bottle of Jim Beam whiskey by himself. She further told the officer that the empty bottle should be inside the car, but it could not be located.

The arresting officer observed physical clues indicating Gutierrez may have been impaired, according to the statement, and further found his license had been revoked. Gutierrez was also not of the legal age to drink.

Criminal history

It was found in Gutierrez’s criminal history that he was convicted for at least 10 traffic violations within a two-year timeframe leading up to Sunday’s crash — including failure to stop at the command of police in 2024, a third degree felony. The charge was amended to a class A misdemeanor in a plea agreement and Gutierrez was placed on probation until Oct. 22, 2025.

Sunday’s probable cause statement further references a previous domestic violence conviction Gutierrez had, which KSL TV obtained documents for.

In January, Gutierrez was found guilty of a class A misdemeanor count for violating a protective order, although it is not known who filed it against him. Two other charges were dismissed in the case earlier this year.

Gutierrez pleaded guilty of another charge connected to that case for criminal trespass dwelling, with the intent to annoy, cause injury, fear or commit a crime — a class C misdemeanor. Another protective order was proposed in the case and his probation was extended to Feb. 28, 2026.

After the incident on Sunday, Gutierrez was charged in 3rd District Court with the following offenses:

• Domestic violence property damage of less than $500, a class A misdemeanor
• Driving under the influence, a class B misdemeanor
• Unlawful purchase, possession or conspumtion by a minor, a class B misdemeanor
• Alcohol restricted river, a class B misdemeanor
• Driving on suspended or revoked operators license, a class C misdemeanor
• Failure to operate within a single lane, an infraction

Read more: Latter-day Saints church building in Australia destroyed by fire