Saturday, January 19, 2013

CAST OF CHARACTERS IN LOPEZ CASE WARRANTS ANOTHER LOOK AT HIS CONVICTION

By Juan Montoya
After attorneys for convicted sexual abuse offender Joe Lopez –  the front man for legendary Tejano Grupo Mazz – filed a writ of mandamus to access and review the evidence that indicted ex-former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos used to personally prosecute him and garner a 32-year sentence, we thought we'd look into the matter.
First, a look at the cast of characters and dynamic playing in his trial.

Prosecutor: Armando Villalobos: On May 7, 2012, the U.S. Attorney's Office named him on a 12-count indictment charging him with one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. In addition, Villalobos was also charged with seven counts of extortion and three counts of honest services fraud. Just lately, he was charged with failure to report. A new indictment issued January 7 accuses him of lying on his 2006 income tax return.
Federal prosecutors allege he failed to report more than $155,000 dollars of gross income from his wife.
Authorities allege that under-reporting the income cost the government more than $45,000 dollars in taxes.
Further, Villalobos had a contract dispute with Lopez dating back to his campaign in 2003 when he gave the singer a $2,000 advance on a $6,000 contract to perform at one of his campaign functions. The singer said he wasn't required to return the sum citing a clause in the contract of timely notice of cancellation. More than once, Villalobos asked for the money and then followed with a written demand. In an unusual move, Villalobos handled the case personally. He later made the conviction a part of his campaign literature in 2008.

Defense Attorneys: Lopez had originally contracted with Robert (Bobby) Lerma and Bennie Ray, of Austin, when his music manager Eddie Peña convinced he was a client of Mike Trejo and Michael Young  and they assured that that, as buddies with Villalobos, they had the inside track with him and could almost guarantee him that they could get all the charges dropped against him. Lopez decided to put his trust on Trejo and Young because of their alleged closeness with DA Villalobos. The charged him a fee of $35,000.

Mike Trejo: During the Abel Limas corruption and racketeering case, it was revealed that Trejo was one of a score of Cameron County attorneys who had "donated" large sums of money to Limas for unspecified reasons other than Abel was hurting for cash.
Michael Young: Young was also one of the attorneys whose name surfaced in the Limas testimony as admitting he had given Limas poker chips for him to use in Las Vegas during one of his frequent gambling jaunts.

The Judge: 357th District Judge Leonel Alejandro: Alejandro resigned from office effective January 2013 with two years left in his term. He cited his desire to devote more time to personal issues and said he might come back as a visiting judge if needed. He was one of the judges named by Limas on the witness stand as one of those members of the judiciary who could be counted to go along with his ongoing schemes to milk the system for money in certain cases. He was also named in the latest hearing to determine if Austin attorney Marc Rosenthal could be charged with conspiracy by the U.S. Attorney. Limas said that before he left office, he turned over the cases he considered important to attorneys who paid him for favorable rulings to Alejandro knowing he could count on him to take care of them.  

Backdrop: When the alleged victim first reported the sexual assault and a "rape kit" was used to determine the veracity of her claims, it came back negative with notations reading "sexually-active adolescent alleges vaginal rape. Examination normal....Importance of condom use and birth control discussed with patient and mother." There were no signs of forced entry, no bruises, no lacerations and no DNA to prove Lopez had touched the girl. Based upon this, Lerma and Ray had gotten Lopez a plea bargain to clean his name.
When Lopez changed attorneys, that also changed. Villalobos took a special interest in the case and acquired samples of Lopez's DNA from dirty-clothes which had been placed in a plastic trash bag and which contained, in addition to the girl's clothes, the clothing of Lopez's son, his wife's and other family members. Using a minute amount of DNA found on the back waistband of the girl's clothes, he was able to convince a jury using a so-called DNA expert that it came from Lopez's semen. Neither Young nor Trejo objected to the use of the DNA which could have come from sweat, blood, skin or any other contaminant contained in the dirty clothes in the plastic trash bag. Additionally, neither attorney hired a defense DNA expert to rebut the testimony of the prosecutor's expert. Why not?
Neither did they – although they had the evidence in hand, introduce an examination by the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department in 2005 (Lopez was convicted in 2006) where she complained of "abnormal bleeding, dysuria, vaginal discharge, lesions, and/pelvic discomfort, and "thinks she might be pregnant."
In that same report, the examiners siad she complained of a smoking cough and in her drug history reported that she consumed "tobacco, hard liquor, marijuana, PCP. Ecstasy and Downers."
A psychiatric report by the Juvenile Department also found that the girl suffered from "an adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct, chronic cannabis abuse, sexual abuse of child (V), and parent-child relational problems. At the time, she was "on probation for assault against stepfather and a runaway, much difficulty in getting along with stepfather, following mother's rules, prefers grandmother, history of self-mutilation and hospitalized at IntraCare in October 2004, previous drug overdose requiring hospitalization (party at boyfriends's house)."
Stunningly, none of this evidence was introduced by :Lopez's defense attorneys at his trial. Was this some kind of defense strategy because they thought they had Villalobos in the bag as they had convinced Lopez and his family? Or was there something else working behind the scenes? And if and when the evidence in the case is produced by the state, will we find out that the DNA "proof" used by Villalobos to convince a jury of Lopez's guilt will turn out to be less than credible?
Aside from being a Tejano superstar, Lopez also happens to be a U.S. Army veteran. That alone should prompt the state to release the evidence used in his trial that Villalonbos refused to divulge for whatever his reasons. 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

What does being a veteran have to do with it? Are veterans entitled to more "justice"? I thought one of the jobs of the military was to help defend and ensure our rights. Now you tell me veterans are like politicians and deserve greater justice. I didn't know.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a new trial is in order.

Anonymous said...

It is a well known secret that Villalobos se quizo empinar a joe,. Villalobos is a vindictive gacho.

Anonymous said...

BISD CALLS SPECIAL BOARD MEETING TO ByBV--TERMINATE THOMPSON HORTON'S LEGAL CONTRACT AND TO HIRE INTERIM COUNSEL
The agenda item is by Otis Powers - let's see which law firm will be getting their payoff. Remember Escobedo has been unhappy with Thompson Horton's refusal to go along on all of his deals. Let's see if the vote is, Powers, Escobedo, Peña, and Chirinos.--

Anonymous said...

Total distortion of the facts. The only fact is that Joe Lopez is a pedophile and Villalobos put him in prison where he belongs. You need only look at his first victim that he impregnated when she was 13 after a concert in San Antonio. She had his child when she turned 14. Lopez was able to hide her and his son from law enforcement for 16 years until it was presented at trial. Read the record.

Anonymous said...

Google the name Joe Lopez and you will find that even Wikipedia is suggesting a Villalobos mishandling and cover up in this case. Hopefully, Joe will be released sooner rather than later.
Wense.

Anonymous said...

Joe Lopez is a child molester whose nuts should be hung from an electric power line in Southmost like an old pair of stinky assed fango filled sneakers. He took the innocence from a child and you are ridiculously disgusting for attempting to sugarcoat this piece of shit like a moldy panaderia doughnut.

Anonymous said...

So he was also going to abuse the system by paying off Villalobos? If he was so innocent of the charges why pay?

Anonymous said...

Could it be Trejo or Young were going to get something if he was convicted?

Anonymous said...

If you want a sample of Lopez' DNA, I do believe he fathered a child with this 13 year old victim. The jury saw the evidence and convicted him. It is difficult to close your eyes at fathering a child from a 13 year old victim and blame it on the victim or the DA.

Short Fry! said...

Montoya, you're not checking all the facts? If you had done your homework, Lopez' appeals have fallen on deaf ears. If everything you wrote was brought out in the briefs submitted by his appellate attorneys, the appeals of these so-called facts did not mean anything or make a difference in the appellate courts? That means they have upheld his conviction! You forgot one other victim who came forth and testified at his punishment phase of his conviction. A secret that she held for years and never challenged by his defense attorneys and AGAIN not an issue with the appellate courts! MOntoya, go look for the first victim that had his child? He's been paying for years to keep that secret quiet! She didn't want to testify because that meant the money would stop coming in for her child. Joe Lopez got what he deserved! Yea, it looks bad because that dumb son-of-a-bitch greedy bastard in Armando Villalobos got caught taking money, favors or whatever! You'll see a lot of others who were convicted by that office trying to get new trials or deals.

Anonymous said...

blaming the victim, really, very ignorant. juanito I like what you write and enjoy your bloggggg, pero esta vez te la mamaste buey. no excuse for hurting children. este vato no vale madre. not all sexual assaults result in trauma you idiot. when you impregnate a 13 year old, father her child, try to hide it, and then do it again with a family member, then a jury of 12 from our community is more than justified in finding you guilty. the commenter que dijo que deberian de colgarle los huevos tiene razon.

Anonymous said...

REGARDLESS ON HOW THE PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT JOE LOPEZ....IF HE WAS GUILTY OR NOT...THE QUESTION IS WHY DIDN'T HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEYS BRING SUCH IMPORTANT AND FAVORABLE INFORMATION TO LIGHT....THIS COULD HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO A JURY...LET THE JURY HASH IT OUT ON ITS OWN AND LET THE JURY DETERMINE WHAT IS CREDITABLE....IF WE DON'T LIKE JOE LOPES FOR SOME REASON OR OTHER THATS OUR DECISSION ON WHO TO LIKE AND OR NOT TO LIKE...I THINK EVERYBODY DESERVES A FAIR SHAKE AT JUSTICE....BEYOND A REASOBALE DOUBT IS THE NAME OF THE GAME IN A CRIMINAL TRAIL....IF A JURY WAS NOT GIVEN THE NEEDED INFORMATION AT A TRIAL TO MAKE A GOOD JUDGEMENT CALL ON THE FAILURE OF THE ATTORNEYS....WHO WERE PAID AND TOOK A OATH TO DEFEND A PERSON REGARDLESS IF THE PERSON WAS GUILTY OR NOT..... THEN I THINK A REMAND IS IN ORDER..

el monkey shines said...

all i can say is that villalobos messed it all up thats all folks, whether joe lopez is guilty or not thats another story, if the former da withheld evidence or tampered with evidence as we have found out he was doing illegal activities bribes, scams etc then thats is not justice and its quite wrong. By the way villalobos bubba is waiting for you at the federal pen para darte un calientadita.

Anonymous said...

I like you....refreshing

Anonymous said...

Geeez

This guy got caught and has a track record of liking little girls. His fathering a child with a 13 year old was no secret and was kept as quiet as possible with a whole lot of cash!

He is lucky he did not mess with the wrong little girl cuz I would have fed his balls to the hogs as he watched!



Anonymous said...

LOL KARMA IS A BITCH! INSTEAD OF SITTING THERE CRYING AND COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW YOU GOT SCREWED OVER, THINK OF WHAT YOU DID TO OTHERS THAT GOT YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY. WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND, PEOPLE. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AN ASS FOR AN ASS.

Anonymous said...

Joe is guilty as the word Guilty, he has raped so many others, but won't come forward. I know for a fact. He should rot in prison til the day he dies.

Anonymous said...

I think if this case that got him in prison the State will bring his former girlfriend and her son to get sons dna to see if Lopez is the father... Then Thats another can of worms Lopez will have to deal with again... Then what...?

Anonymous said...

I think the State should get his 13yrs old girlfriend Normal Jean and her son to get sons dna from San Antonio where they live... Several times atty general lockup Joe Lopez in San Antonio for child support.. Norma Jean was 13yrs old when her mom would bring Norma to Joe Lopez room in San Antonio... She was feeding the meat to Joe Lopez... Its a can that Lopez should dig himself out because when court open another can of worms the people will indeed see how of a rapist Joe Lopez really is..

Anonymous said...

What a joke on the comments people wake up its that so called little girl and her mother and family posting them !

Anonymous said...

you all just run your mouth without knowing the truth,or etc, that so call little girl is a big time faker , liar and has mental issues, she's bipolar,has no respect for her parents, elders etc, has the ugliest mouth, and at a very young age 13 she was running the streets, doing drugs with mama dearest, if you only knew her lifestyle you all wouldn't be running your mouth annnd Joe never touched her, the truth will come out,even my pastor prophecied , that Joe was innocent, and that is proof enough for me, you all ought to go to church and quit pointing fingers to things you don't know.

rita