Man receives seven-year prison sentence in fatal collision

The father of a man killed in a 2020 collision at Lake Tahoe testified Tuesday that losing his son was like a life sentence.

“Your sentence, like ours, is a life sentence,” said Peter Dykeman Sr. 

Peter Dykeman Jr., 34, was killed when a 2011 Dodge ram pickup driven by Alexander Gutierrez-Gonzales crossed the center line on Highway 50 at Presbyterian Curve on Nov. 3, 2020.

Gutierrez-Gonzales was sentenced up to 84 months, and that’s what he received from District Judge Tod Young. Had Young sought to sentence Gutierrez-Gonzales to more than seven years, the driver could have withdrawn his plea and gone to trial. The charge of driving under the influence causing death carries with it an up to 20-year sentence

According to court documents, Gutierrez-Gonzales was driving to Reno in the borrowed pickup when he struck Dykeman’s westbound Honda Element. Dykeman was declared dead at the scene.  Gutierrez-Gonzales tested positive for alcohol and methamphetamine. 

He was arrested in June 2021 after the Nevada State Police completed their investigation. 

• The mother of a victim of sexual assault gave a victim impact statement Tuesday in Douglas County District Court.

“I have no doubt we will survive,” she said. “We have already endured the hardest 18 months of our lives. We are survivors and no longer victims.”

Fabian Daniel Benitez, 43, received 60 months in prison after he admitted to a count of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14.

• Douglas County District Court Judge Tod Young granted diversion to three men who admitted to possession of a controlled substance, Tuesday. 

Sean Paul Cuthbertson,25, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of possession of controlled substances of heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Ecstasy. 

Jesus Fabian Martinez, 39, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine. 

Andrew Edward-Arnold Wood, 32, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of psilocybin.