'Horrible act': Man accused of shooting girlfriend in a car in Surprise
Police accuse a man of killing a woman found shot dead in a vehicle in Surprise after learning the two were involved romantically.
Surprise police announced Friday that Michael Lopez Jr., 51, was charged on suspicion of second-degree murder in the Feb. 9 death of 41-year-old Janice Laborin. Lopez was arrested Thursday following a high-risk vehicle stop, police said.
Just before 11 p.m. on Feb. 9, officers responded to a shooting in a neighborhood near North Dysart Road and West Elm Street and found Laborin in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head, the Police Department said. She was taken to a hospital where she later died from her injuries, police said.
Detectives determined Lopez and Laborin were in a romantic relationship, police said.
"It appears to be a horrible act of domestic violence and not a random act of violence," police said in a statement.
According to police, Lopez is also charged on suspicion of six other felony counts:
Two counts of misconduct with weapons, a Class 4 felony.
One count of disorderly conduct with weapons, a Class 6 felony.
One count of discharging a firearm in city limits, Class 6 felony.
He also had two warrants for violating his probation, police added.
Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in apprehending Lopez, including the U.S. Marshals Service, police said.
The Surprise Police Department is urging anyone in an abusive relationship, or who knows someone in such a situation, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call 623-222-4000 or 623-222-TIPS (8477), or email crimetips@surpriseaz.gov.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Surprise woman killed in domestic violence act, police say
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Snakes on a plane: Indian smuggler caught with venomous vipers
A passenger smuggling dozens of venomous vipers was stopped after flying into the financial capital Mumbai from Thailand, Indian customs officials said. The snakes, which included 44 Indonesian pit vipers, had the snakes "concealed in checked-in baggage", Mumbai Customs said in a statement late Sunday. "An Indian national arriving from Thailand was arrested," it added. The passenger, details of whom were not released, also had three Spider-tailed horned vipers -- which are venomous, but usually only target small prey such as birds -- as well as five Asian leaf turtles. Mumbai Customs issued photographs of the seized snakes, including blue and yellow reptiles squirming in a bucket. The snakes are a relatively unusual seizure in Mumbai, with customs officers more regularly posting pictures of hauls of smuggled gold, cash, cannabis or pills of suspected cocaine swallowed by passengers. However, in February, customs officials at Mumbai airport also stopped a smuggler with five Siamang gibbons, a small ape native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Those small creatures, listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, were "ingeniously concealed" in a plastic crate placed inside the passenger's trolley bag, customs officers said. In November, customs officers seized a passenger carrying a wriggling live cargo of 12 turtles, and a month before, four hornbill birds, all on planes arriving from Thailand. In September, two passengers were arrested with five juvenile caimans, a reptile in the alligator family. bur-pjm/rsc
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Threat to Holyoke High deemed hoax; juvenile suspect identified
HOLYOKE — Police have tracked down a juvenile accused of a making a threat to Holyoke High School on social media. Students first saw the threat last week and notified School Resource Officers Manuel Rivera and Juan Cruz about the post, Holyoke Police Chief Brian Keenan said. They immediately started investigating the threat, made on Instagram, and determined it was not credible. The original post was deleted but has been passed through screenshots by students and the others in the school community, Keenan said. 'Detectives spoke with the juvenile with a parent present to reinforce the seriousness of posting any type of threat online,' Keenan said. Police did not release any information about the suspect because of the accused's age or the nature of the post. 'Our department treats any threat to our community seriously and thoroughly investigates each situation to determine if any threat is credible. In this case, thankfully it was not,' Keenan said. 'The safety and well-being of our students and community is paramount. I appreciate the vigilance of the students who brought this post to our officers' attention, and in doing so, the officers were able to quickly identify the person responsible for the post.' Mayor Joshua Garcia thanked police for their quick action and reinforced that no students or staff were ever in danger. 'I want to assure our community, students, staff and teachers that there is no ongoing threat, and this post was deemed to not be credible,' he said. 'If there was a situation where we received a threat, and it was deemed credible or if it was unclear, we would alert our community immediately.' Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Little Rock police searching for man connected to May deadly shooting
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock police are looking for a man that they say is connected to a May 11 homicide on Auxor Road. According to investigators, Marshon Conway is wanted for capital murder in connection with the deadly shooting of 39-year-old Lee Battles of Benton. Little Rock police identify victim in deadly Sunday night shooting Investigators say that Little Rock officers responded to the 9000 block of Auxor Road and found Battles in a lot suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Police said he was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Anyone with information on Conway's whereabouts is asked to contact the Little Rock Police Department at 501-371-4660. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
