Conviction for Criminal Solicitation to Commit Murder
Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Lorenzo Gutierrez pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree felony criminal solicitation to commit
murder on the second day of a four-day jury trial.
On April 2, 2020, a detective with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office received information from D.L. that the defendant, an inmate at the Adult Detention Center, had approached him about soliciting someone to murder the defendant’s ex-girlfriend, C.Y., and her new boyfriend, J.F. The defendant and C.Y. have a child together. The defendant had offered to pay for the murders with cash and drugs. On May 6, 2020, law enforcement installed a recording device in the defendant’s cell. The defendant told another inmate that he wanted to “smoke” and “stomp out” C.Y. and other people, but he wanted it done while he was in jail, so he wasn’t a suspect. When the defendant asked that same inmate if he knew someone who could “smoke” C.Y., following the directions of detectives, the inmate told the defendant that he did and gave a fictitious name and address for “Bill Murphy.” A few days later, detectives intercepted a letter written to Bill Murphy at the direction of the defendant. The letter outlined the steps to reach C.Y. and explained how the defendant would cover the costs of the contract on her life. Bill Murphy was an alias for an undercover ATF agent.
On June 2, 2020, detectives sent the defendant a letter posing as Bill with a phone number where the defendant could reach Bill. The defendant made several calls to Bill from the Adult Correction Center, where he discussed plans to have C.Y. and J.F. killed. On or about June 23, 2020, the defendant called Bill and informed him that he had been served with custody papers regarding his minor child with C.Y., and he was not happy about it. On June 24, 2020, the defendant informed Bill that he would be receiving his stimulus check, which he could use as a down payment on the contract. Then, on July 10, 2020, the defendant told Bill that he had a firearm and vehicle that he could give Bill to pay for the contract, and Bill said he could use those as a down payment to get things started.
On June 4, 2025, day two of a four-day scheduled jury trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree felony criminal solicitation of murder. The sentencing of the defendant is scheduled for July 21, 2025.
“Violence is never the way to resolve disputes, especially involving custody of a child. We appreciate the work of our law enforcement partners at Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Corrections, and ATF, whose investigative work likely helped save the lives of two individuals,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We appreciate the work of our prosecutor, John Ham, as well as our support staff whose years of work helped lead to this guilty conviction.