THE LONE STAR FUGITIVE TASK FORCE ARRESTS JOSE LUIS LOPEZ

Midland, TX – On September 6, 2007, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force (LSFTF) in Midland received information from the U.S. Marshals Service in Lubbock that serial rapist Jose Luis Lopez may possibly be in the Midland area. Lopez had been linked to 9 sexual assault cases in Lubbock and Midland through DNA evidence, and warrants for his arrest were issued in Lubbock. The Lubbock Police Department requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals in locating and apprehending Lopez.

The U.S. Marshals in Lubbock and the LSFTF in Midland began working together, along with the Lubbock and Midland Police Departments, and developed information that Lopez was living in a motel on the west side of Midland. At the Economy Inn on west Wall Street, the desk clerk identified Lopez as currently residing there and provided his room number. Task Force members conducted surveillance, and determined that someone was presently in the room. No one answered the knock at the door, and the Midland PD SWAT team made forced entry into the room, and then made forced entry into the bathroom where Lopez was hiding. He was then taken into custody without further incident, and turned over to state custody pending a move to Lubbock to face charges.

On September 7, 2007, Midland County jail staff found Lopez dead after hanging himself with bed linen, from the shower in his separation cell. LaFayette Collins, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Texas said, “It’s always sad when someone chooses to take their own life. We may never find out how many more victims are out there, but the victims we do know of may now be able to find closure for his horrific crimes.”

The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force is headed by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Western District of Texas with offices in San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Del Rio, Midland, Pecos, Alpine, and El Paso. The Midland Police Department is one of the many member agencies of the LSFTF.