JOB VACANCY NINJA XPRESS GAJI TINGGI

 Laurie Levenson, a professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School, said that Villanueva’s use of the word “deliberate” was “pretty vague.” And ultimately, it’s up to prosecutors to look at the evidence and the law.

“What we need to know is: Did this individual have, in the language of the law, the specific intent? Did he have the purpose to run over these recruits?” Levenson said. “That’s the question that has to be answered.”

Experts said that examples of specific intent in an attempted murder case, such as how the suspect in the South Whittier crash was initially arrested, could include evidence that the individual hated the Sheriff’s Department, had a bad history with the department or had scouted information about the recruits and their training schedule ahead of time. There is so far no public indication that such evidence exists in this case.

The department could have presented lesser charges to the D.A.'s office, Dmitry Gorin, a former prosecutor, said. But that could be prickly.

“If they undercharge it, he may plea open immediately and avoid a more serious charge,” Gorin said.

Speaking Friday at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles, Sheriff-elect Robert Luna would not discuss the investigation and referred questions about it to Villanueva, but he said the incident was “absolutely on my mind.”

The recruits, Luna said, were hurt while working toward “the purpose of serving our community.” He offered his prayers to those who were injured, their families and the staff who were instructing them.

It is not uncommon for people to be released from custody, lawyers said.

“Often people get arrested, released and then rearrested,” Shapiro said, noting that most often occurs when the prosecutor asks for additional investigation. “But here, the investigators have preempted that decision knowing they need more information.”

Investigators are continuing to gather and examine evidence against Gutierrez, but law enforcement cannot hold a suspect in custody for more than 48 hours without presenting the case to prosecutors, said Sgt. Gerardo Magos, an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson.

Once investigators have built a case, they plan to re-arrest Gutierrez and present it to the L.A. County district attorney’s office, Magos said.

Prosecutors have at least one year to file misdemeanor charges from the date of an incident and three years to file most felony charges, Liu said. Violent felony crimes have longer statutes of limitations, and some — such as Penal Code 187 PC — have no statute of limitations.

Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.