Charges filed against man accused of pulling gun on Lake County deputy
A 23-year-old man who was shot after, authorities say, he pulled a gun on police when confronted while trying to burglarize one car and steal another in Wadsworth has been charged with a host of felonies, including attempted first-degree murder.
Angel X. Lopez, of the 35800 block of North Wilson Road in Ingleside, was released from a hospital Wednesday and into the custody of the Lake County sheriff's police, authorities said Thursday. Lopez was charged with attempted first-degree murder "as he performed a substantial step toward the commission of attempting to kill a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy," a news release states.
Lopez also is charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, armed robbery, armed violence. Other charges include unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and aggravated assault.
When he was arrested, Lopez had an active arrest warrant for escape, authorities said. In March, he was sentenced by a Lake County judge to 36 months of periodic imprisonment on a criminal charge. Under that sentence, Lopez was ordered to return to Community Based Corrections each day after his work shift.
But on April 13, Lopez failed to return to the work release unit and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to the sheriff's office.
The latest charges stem from a resident's 911 call to police about 4:45 a.m. Nov. 2 about a man trying to burglarize her car on the 13200 block of West Greenview Drive in Wadsworth, authorities said.
Authorities say Lopez fled when deputies and a police dog responded to the area. He ran about one block, where he found a vehicle warming up in a driveway and tried to take it to escape but drove it into a tree, authorities said.
While inside the vehicle, he pulled out a pistol and a sheriff's deputy shot him, authorities said. Lopez was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The gun deputies saw was recovered, authorities said.
Lopez remains held in the Lake County jail on $3 million bail.