Jury Finds Man Guilty of 2013 Murder
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Nov 1, 2014, Comments Off
Courtesy Yanira De Leon,
(Laredo, Tx)_The Office of the District Attorney reports a guilty verdict for Juan Jose Lopez Jr. who was charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and engaging in organized criminal activity in connection to the murder of Ricardo Vasquez. The jury sentenced Lopez to 50 years with a $10,000 fine for the murder charge, 17 years with a $10,000 fine for the aggravated kidnapping charge and 10 years with a $10,000 fine for the engaging in organized criminal activity charge. The sentences will run concurrent.
On August 29, 2013, an anonymous call was received to the Laredo Police Department Communications Division reporting that an assault and kidnapping was in progress. Officers arrived at the scene to find Ricardo Vasquez lifeless in a home on the 2900 block of Napoleon in south Laredo. He was brutally tortured and killed by a group of seven individuals, all of which were arrested in the days to follow. Lopez was arrested on August 31, 2014 and charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and engaging in organized criminal activity, all first degree felonies in the state of Texas.
The trial which took place before the 111th District Court Judge Monica Z. Notzon was heard by a jury over the course of four days, handing up their guilty verdict after six hours of deliberation. Several witnesses took the stand during the trial including two DNA experts and several Laredo Police officers and investigators that responded to the crime scene.
Assistant District Attorney’s Jonathan Garcia, Anali Vargas, Xavier Charles and Joshua Davila were prosecuting the case for the State.
Co-defendant’s Sergio Garcia-Garza and Roberto Sanchez plead guilty on October 27, 2014 to tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and engaging in organized criminal activity, respectively. Garcia-Garza will serve two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division after a presentence investigation hearing and Sanchez will serve 10 years. The remaining four co-defendants are awaiting trial.
