Avondale police arrested 30-year-old Gabriel Gutierrez for multiple crimes that happened over the span of the last week.
Investigators said Gutierrez beat up a landscaper and robbed him Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Then, four days later, police said he assaulted a woman at her Avondale home and lit the place on fire.
AZ Family reports the victim told police Gutierrez hit her over the head dozens of times with a butane bottle, tied her up with electrical cords, gagged her then put a pillowcase over her head. He lit several areas of the home on fire and took off, leaving the woman inside.
The victim told investigators she was able to break free from the constraints, escape from the burning building and call for help.
Investigators said the assault happened after the woman saw a picture of a car linked to a Feb. 7 murder on the news and recognized that car at Gutierrez’s. The woman told police Gutierrez seemed upset and paranoid after she said that.