A man is expected to be sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted murder during an attack on a woman in Paradise Hills, and two other incidents in 2013.
Jesse Alan Gutierrez, 48, pleaded guilty to trying to rob and carjack a woman on Oct. 26, 2013, with a deadly weapon that contained sharp nails. She was cut in the neck in a 5:30 a.m. struggle over her car keys.
The woman had just parked her car on Paradise Valley Road when Gutierrez approached her as she was headed for work. She was taken to a hospital.
Gutierrez also pleaded guilty to two other robberies including one in the South Bay in which he shoved a woman to the ground. He faces life in prison plus consecutive sentences in his plea agreement, said Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 7 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Amalia Meza. Gutierrez remains in the central jail without bail.
Gutierrez has spent several years at Patton State Hospital where he was confined after being determined to be mentally incompetent. But Gutierrez regained his ability to understand court proceedings and returned here about eight months ago after a judge found him to be mentally competent. He has previously been convicted of two burglaries in 2008 and 2009, according to court records.
