Joe Lopez—remember him? The guy who allegedly snatched a woman from a Carriage House motel room like it was a clearance-bin kidnapping special—just got sentenced. But not for the kidnapping. Or the assault. Or the police chase. Or the hotel gun incident where he shot through walls like it was a live-action Looney Tunes episode. No, no. Those nine other charges? We don’t know her.
Instead, Lopez pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and that’s what’s sending him to prison. 15 years in state prison plus another 66 months federal. Consecutive. Because if there’s one thing the justice system in Lubbock clings to, it’s paperwork technicalities.
Judge Douglas Freitag even said he didn’t like the deal—but signed it anyway. Which honestly is the most Lubbock judicial mood possible: “This seems bad, but we’re already here, so whatever.”
So to sum up: break in, drag a woman out, fire guns in a motel, lead police on a hunt across town… but the real problem? Bro had a gun he wasn’t supposed to have.
Because let’s be clear: in Lubbock, the kidnapping was merely impolite, but the gun?
Oh, that’s where we draw the line.
