“Ruined my life:” A man wrongly arrested by the police in San Antonio lost his job, savings

SAN ANTONIO – Within a few minutes, Eduardo Lopez’s life was turned upside down.

The self-employed entrepreneur was at his family home on a day off when the San Antonio police knocked on his door on December 8th with an arrest warrant.

Officials told him he was wanted in a weeklong case that took place about five miles from his home on the West Side.

Lopez said he told officials they must be wrong but that he didn’t want to escalate the situation, especially because his children were home. Officials told him they would take him to speak to the detective and that he would be “back in no time,” Lopez said in an interview with KSAT on Friday.

Instead, they charged him with two crimes of failing to stop and provide assistance, and took him to the Bexar District Prison. His bail was set at $ 15,000, court records show.

Lopez, 48, said he didn’t have money on bail. So he scraped together the money he had saved for his four sons’ Christmas gifts and asked a friend for a loan. He paid a debtor $ 1,500 to cover bail so he could be released the next day.

Lopez said he was embarrassed when he reported the arrest to local news outlets, including KSAT, citing court and police records. It was there that Lopez learned more about the case in which he was charged.

On December 2, the police were called to the scene of the accident on the 3700 block of Fredericksburg and De Chantle Road. The driver of a black 2005 Ford F-150 refused to give in and turned left in front of a silver sedan, which caused the cars to collide and spin, according to San Antonio police.

Witnesses told police the pickup driver walked over to the limo and peeked in before stepping off the scene and leaving his keys to the vehicle in the front seat.

An investigation into the pickup revealed that the insurance had expired but was listed under an “Eduardo Lopez,” an official wrote in the affidavit.

When he returned to work the next day, Lopez found that he had been fired. He put all his energies into clearing his name.

He contacted SAPD, the detective on his case, KSAT’s newsroom, and even tried to get in touch with Chief William McManus.

Lopez waited hours outside the office of the detective assigned his case to speak to him.

Lopez said he told the detective he did not own a black pickup truck that had been left at the scene and was the main evidence in the case. He said the keys left in the pickup would not unlock the doors of his house and offered phone recordings to evacuate.

The detective explained to Lopez that he looked it up during a driving test and found that it matched the description of the driver involved in the accident. According to an affidavit, the eyewitness also identified Lopez in a photo constellation. But the detective said he would take care of it.

“If he’d done his homework … he’d get mad at me a few times for telling him,” You should have done research before you put me on a photo constellation, “said Lopez.” He’s got mine Ruined life, he ruined our vacation. “

On Monday, almost a week after his arrest, Lopez received a voicemail.

“This is Detective Davis, San Antonio Police Department,” he said. “It turns out that there may be another Eduardo Lopez, but he is from Mexico. There is no information about him, no records for him or anything like that. “

The detective said that while the suspect shares the same name and physical description, he “no longer has a likely cause” to tie Lopez to the case.

“I’m going to call the prosecutor today and find out how I can clear up your name so we can get you back to work,” said the detective.

The charges against Lopez were officially dropped on Thursday, court records show.

But the unlawful arrest left Lopez out of work and without an empty savings account. Now he’s calling on the city to do things right.

“I don’t have a job. I have no money,” Lopez said. “San Antonio PD is like … the Grinch who stole Christmas.”

After KSAT checked the detective’s voicemail, he immediately removed his story of the arrest and turned to SAPD for information.

The San Antonio Police Department has refused to comment beyond a written statement: “We can confirm that the case you are referring to is an active investigation.” The Bexar District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request from KSAT.

Lopez says he still “loves” the San Antonio Police Department that one of his sons is on the department’s Police Explorer program, but he hopes the department will spot the bug.

On Friday, Lopez said a lieutenant called to apologize for the illegal arrest and that he did his best to help him.

Read more on KSAT.com:

Black jogger arrested by SAPD did not suspect they were looking. Now he is being charged with crimes by officers.