Murder of Johnny Lopez inspires bill
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- "This state needs to have no tolerance when it comes to people killing other people, family members in our community," said State Representative Marsha Looper on House Bill 1081 which increases the statute of limitations for vehicular homicides.
Currently police only have three years to solve a vehicular homicide, House Bill 1081 increases it to five years.
The bill was written by Representative Looper after she learned the current three year statute of limitations had prevented Fountain police officers from charging a man with murder.
The victim in that murder was Johnny Lopez. He was hit by a car while walking along Highway 85 in Falcon and killed.
That was May 23, 2003.
Police never solved his murder and the case went cold in 2004.
"Going from having my husband who was a good husband, to a single mom raising five kids was the biggest struggle I have had to face and still face everyday," said Leticia Lopez, Johnny's wife.
Years later, Cpl. Tom Davis with the Falcon Police Department re-opened the case.
"I observed that a vehicle which had sustained damage consist with an impact strike on a human body had been located the day after the accident," said Davis.
Officers saved paint samples of that car, paint samples lodged on Lopez's body, and a hair follicle found above the windshield of the suspect car.
"I contacted the FBI and asked for their help they to me to send the samples," Davis said.
The FBI confirmed the paint on Lopez's body matched the paint on the suspect car, and the hair follicle found on the suspect car matched Lopez's DNA.
The owner of that vehicle was Pedro Cruz.
"During multiple interviews with Cruz, he made it clear that he was the only one who drove this vehicle so he became our primary suspect," Davis said.
Davis arrested Cruz on May 7, 2008, but he wasn't behind bars for long. The statute of limitations on the crime had expired about two years before the arrest.
"I was devastated. I couldn't believe we had somebody here that had killed a human being and wouldn't have to stand before a jury of their peers to answer to that," Davis said.
"It was very unfair," said Lopez. "This person (Cruz) gets to come home to his family. We don't have that opportunity that privilege, and I struggle everyday."
House Bill 1081 could have changed that. Davis arrested Cruz 16 days before the five year mark.
"The intent of extending the statute is to allow law enforcement more time to investigate cases and charge these monsters for killing people," Looper said.
The bill has passed the house and senate and is awaiting the governor's signature.
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