Man accused of murdering Kenosha County deputy to stand trial
(Published Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:28:11 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
KENOSHA, Wis. - A Kenosha man was ordered Tuesday to stand trial in the fatal shooting of a sheriff's deputy during a routine traffic stop.
Prosecutors presented enough evidence showing probable cause that Ezeiquiel Lopez, 44, committed first-degree intentional homicide in shooting Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. about 11:30 p.m. May 16 in Somers, Court Commissioner James Fitzgerald ruled.
Lopez was ordered to return to court June 14 to enter a plea to the charge, which carries a mandatory life prison term. He remained in jail Tuesday on $1 million cash bail.
University of Wisconsin-Parkside Police Officer Jimmie Spino, who was Fabiano's backup, testified at Tuesday's preliminary hearing that he heard Fabiano ask three times for Lopez to get out of his 1995 Chevrolet Astro van. Then he saw Fabiano raise his left hand in a stop gesture and put his right hand on his gun.
"That's when I observed the black semiautomatic pistol come from inside the Astro van," testified Spino, a nine-year veteran of the Parkside police. "I distinctly heard the initial fire discharge from the weapon from inside the van, or sticking outside the van."
Spino heard two shots, saw Fabiano fall and fired his own pistol, according to the criminal complaint. Lopez continued to fire and then ran from the van along a line of trees, the complaint said.
Fabiano, 48, an 18-year veteran of the department, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 50 minutes later.
Spino testified he rushed to Fabiano's side after the shooting.
"I tried to comfort him. I was trying to give him a sense of hope that he was going to be OK," he said.
About three hours after the shooting, deputies arrested Lopez in an apartment complex's parking lot about a mile away.
When interviewed, Lopez said he was upset on May 16 because his wife had an affair.
"The defendant said that he had been drinking tequila, bought a .380 pistol for $300 from what he described as a gang member and also bought and consumed about $200 worth of cocaine," the complaint said.
Lopez told investigators he didn't initially stop his van for Fabiano because he thought he had been in an accident, the complaint said. Lopez also allegedly said he didn't recall shooting at any officers.
Fabiano, married with a young daughter, had three gunshot wounds, including at least one to the head that killed him, the complaint said. He fired four shots toward Lopez during the confrontation, police said.
