Fresno woman uses settlement money to buy guns for street gangs

WaPo

A mother sued the city of Fresno after her thug teenager was killed by the police. She was awarded $5M, which she then promptly used to supply her 14 year old son with guns so he could sell them to gangbangers. Mother of the year material.

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A few months ago, Christina Lopez ended a four-year battle with the city of Fresno, Calif., over the death of her teenage son. The unarmed 16-year-old was fatally shot by a police officer in 2017, and his mother and the city had finally reached a $4.9 million settlement.

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In the months that followed, Lopez, 42, used the money to buy a five-bedroom home on five acres of land in a western suburb of the Central Valley city, public records show.

She also spent thousands on guns, law enforcement said, and gave them to her 14-year-old son, who was selling them to fellow gang members.

Now, Lopez faces 22 charges, including child endangerment and conspiracy to provide firearms to a minor for the benefit of a street gang. She could serve up to 10 years in state prison, according to Fresno County District Attorney Lisa A. Smittcamp.

Lopez’s 14-year-old son was also arrested and faces felony charges for gun possession, conspiracy to commit crimes and street gang enhancements, according to law enforcement.

Smittcamp, the district attorney, said Lopez used her settlement money from the city of Fresno to buy the guns that her son then sold to other gang members — actions that should make people “sick to their stomach.”

“As a mother and a prosecutor and a citizen of this county for my entire life, this is some of the most despicable behavior I’ve ever seen from a human being,” Smittcamp said at a Friday news conference announcing the arrests.

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Naturally, the mother is the victim here.

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But the alleged crimes are suspicious and possibly retributory, one of Lopez’s attorneys told The Washington Post in a statement.

“[T]he crimes alleged against her are completely contrary to everything we know about her,” said Julia Sherwin, who represented Lopez in the civil rights lawsuit after her son’s death. “These criminal charges reek of retaliation for Christina winning the largest settlement against Fresno in its history.”

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