Ceres man who represented himself in court convicted of attempted murder for second time
A Ceres man has been convicted of attempted murder for the second time in two decades.
Following an August jury trial in which he represented himself, 43-year-old Arturo Vega Lopez was convicted of premeditated attempted murder related to a shooting last year.
Lopez shot an acquaintance he had lured to a commercial complex near Modesto’s Seventh Street Bridge on Feb. 1, 2021, according to a press release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
Lopez owed the victim money for automotive repair work and told him he would pay him at the complex.
When they both arrived, the victim approached the passenger side window of Lopez’s vehicle and leaned inside to collect the money.
That’s when Lopez shot the victim once in the chest, causing a nonfatal wound, according to the press release. The bullet went through the victim’s chest and ended up stuck in Lopez’s passenger door panel.
Yelling that he’d been shot, the victim ran toward the vehicle he’d arrived in with his fiancée. He got inside, and his fiancée put the car in reverse and “rammed Lopez’s car with her own in order to prevent Lopez from firing additional shots,” according to the press release.
She then drove the victim to the hospital and called 911.
Lopez fled the scene and called 911 as well, claiming to be the victim of a hit and run. Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies determined that the two calls were related and that Lopez was the primary suspect, according to the press release.
After a search warrant was obtained for Lopez’s vehicle, deputies found a portable gun safe under the driver’s seat, a single shell casing in the backseat, a bullet hole in the passenger-side door panel and a bullet in the passenger-side door. They also recovered the victim’s cell phone and a license plate from the victim’s vehicle.
Lopez, who had previously been convicted of attempted murder in Stanislaus County in 2002, was arrested and charged with premeditated attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as an enhancement for causing great bodily injury during the crime.
During a two-week trial, the victim testified that he and Lopez had been involved in a physical altercation weeks prior to the shooting and that he was lured to the location where he was shot. Deputies also testified about the search of Lopez’s vehicle and the incriminating items they recovered, according to the press release.
The jury deliberated for approximately three hours Aug. 16 before reaching unanimous guilty verdicts on all charges.
Lopez initially had a public defender assigned to his case but in June decided to represent himself. On a form in which he waived his legal right to counsel, he said he graduated from high school in Mexico and his legal education consisted of “just read(ing) some books before bed.”
“Rarely, if ever, is it a good idea to represent yourself, but certainly not in a serious case,” said Public Defender Jennifer Jennison. “There is no way someone with his education could handle the intricacies of the legal system. It is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, however. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. It certainly makes it almost certain the DA will win a conviction.”
Lopez will return to court on Oct. 26 for sentencing. He faces a potential punishment of life in prison.
“Being represented by competent counsel could not be more important than in a case like this with a life sentence consequence,” Jennison said. “I am not saying the outcome would be different, but our system only works when we have trained advocates on both sides.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 9:54 AM.
