Man Sentenced To Prison For The 2014 Christmas Eve Killing Ex-Girlfriend
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
WASHINGTON, DC.- A 45-year-old Salvadorian national who fled to El Salvador after fatally gunning down his ex-girlfriend on Christmas Eve 2014 and who remained on the run for years until he was apprehended and extradited back to the United States has been sentenced to a half-a-century in prison for her murder.
According to U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith, on Friday, October 25, 2024, Marvin Lopez, 45, of El Salvador, appeared in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe to 50 years in state prison on his conviction of first-degree Murder While Armed; and a concurrent 7 years for Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence.
According to evidence presented to the jury during an eight-day trial in November 2023, two D.C. Metropolitan Police Lieutenants were patrolling on South 14th Street in Northwest D.C. on December 24, 2014, when they heard two gunshots and proceeded to the area.
Police Officials Hear Gunshots
The two Lieutenants were approached a group of individuals who pointed in the direction the gunman had run. One of the Lieutenants gave chase on foot but lost sight of the suspect in a wooded area at the end of Shepherd Street in Northwest D.C. The other Lieutenant found a woman, identified as Evelyn Yamileth Arroyo Guerru, lying on the sidewalk, unresponsive from a gunshot wound to her chest and a graze wound to her head. The initial investigation revealed that Yamileth had been shot as she was arriving for work as a waitress at the El Sabor Latino restaurant.
Witnesses Identify Lopez
During the ensuing investigation, two witnesses who knew Yamileth told Detectives that they had seen Lopez, Yamileth’s ex-boyfriend, lurking outside the restaurant and approached her when she arrived and fired two gunshots at her, killing her.
One of the witnesses provided Detectives with Facebook messages between Lopez and Yamileth from a few days before the murder in which Lopez threatened to kill her. Following the conclusion of the investigation, Detectives filed formal charges against Lopez, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Despite a warrant being issued, Lopez evaded capture and fled to El Salvador. Lopez was finally located in El Salvador and was taken into custody and extradited back to the United States in March 2023.
