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Lopez’s brother gets charged

By Staff | Feb 11, 2008

Six months after the stabbing death of his brother, a 30-year-old Winnebago man has been charged in the incident.

Faribault County Attorney Brian Roverud says Eduardo Lopez Chavez — also known as Juan Garza and Samuel Garnica — was arrested Wednesday afternoon and is currently being held in the county jail.

Chavez has been charged with one count of second-degree riot and two counts of terroristic threats.

All charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

“The charges are based on the investigation and everybody’s testimony of what happened that night and who was involved in the fight with belts and broken beer bottles,” says Roverud.

Miguel Angel Lopez was killed July 28 after a fight broke out in the driveway of his father’s mobile home at Sunrise Manor Trailer Park in Winnebago.

According to a court complaint, a fight broke out between Marcos Gonzalez, Jose Guadalupe Gomez, Juan Garza and Lopez.

Several people fought with fists and belts, the complaint says, when Gonzalez reached into the bed of his pickup and pulled out a 10-inch serrated knife and stabbed Lopez in the stomach.

Chavez used a car jack pipe and a broken bottle during the fight, the complaint says.

Roverud says Gomez, Hector Carrillo Carbajal and Louis Alberto Sanchez also face riot and terroristic threats charges. Warrants have been issued for their arrests.

Carbajal also goes by the name David Carrillo, while Sanchez has also used the names of Sergio GiJon-Bello, Jesse Sotto and Sergio Sanchez.

Carbajal allegedly used a stick in the fight and was making threats of violence along with Sanchez, according to court documents.

Gomez was initially charged in Lopez’s murder with two felony counts of aiding an offender. The charges were dismissed after Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tests showed that blood found on his clothing did not match the victim’s.

Gomez, an illegal alien, was turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for deportation.