“And with this judge, politics will not enter the conversation.” “The law is apolitical,” Spahn said before the sentencing. Judge Spahn said he disagreed with the defense argument. Patterson said Lopez was punished for “her words rather than actions.” Lopez’s defense counsel, Christopher Patterson, argued that she was there to engage in a protest and did not instruct anyone to destroy property and destroyed no property herself. The driver behind this regrettable night was Jessica Lopez.” “This is not a peaceful protest that happened to go wrong. “I think what was presented was a straightforward case,” Wade said at the sentencing. Wade requested a sentence at the higher end of the guideline range because Lopez “did not take responsibility for her actions” during the riot and painted herself as a “victim and political prisoner” during the trial. “This court cannot and will not overlook a prior record.”įirst Deputy District Attorney Cody Wade, who prosecuted the case, noted Lopez’s significant prior record score,” saying the minimum sentencing guideline with her prior record score was 9 to 16 months in state prison. “Prior record matters,” Spahn said during the sentencing hearing. However, Spahn said Lopez’s previous criminal record raised serious questions regarding her sentencing, including a conviction of aggravated assault and a federal conviction of drug dealing as two of the multiple prior convictions on her record. Lopez, the mother of four children, was taken into custody after the sentence was read and transported to prison.ĭuring the sentencing, multiple supporters of Lopez spoke about her character, with Judge Spahn stating “many of the speakers today raised a meritorious point that people can overcome their past.” Lopez was convicted in November in a jury trial with charges of rioting, criminal conspiracy, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, obstruction of highways and defiant trespass. Jessica Lopez, 34 of the 400 block of East Marion Street, Lancaster, was sentenced April 4 by Lancaster County Judge Merrill Spahn to 13 to 30 months in state prison for her role in the riot outside the Lancaster City Bureau of Police station on the night of Sept.
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