Teacher's killer: 'I did the right thing'
After jury quickly convicts him of murdering DeVargas
teacher, 'Bozo' Lopez viciously insults his victim
Santa Fe New
Mexican
May 7, 1998
202 East Marcy Street
P.O. Box 2048
Santa Fe, NM 87504-2048
(505) 983-3303
(print run 23,900)
editor@sfnewmexican.com
By Steve Terrell
The New Mexican
Arthur "Bozo" Lopez stabbed teacher Noah Rodriguez
more than 50 times in October 1996. And on Wednesday, just after a jury convicted him of
first-degree murder, Lopez took another stab at Rodriguez.
"I'm not going to say I'm an angel, but the man upstairs
knows what happened," Lopez said. "I know in my heart I did the right thing. I
don't just kill somebody for no reason.
"He was a disgusting man," Lopez said of the slain
teacher as members of the Rodriguez family sat and held each other in the courtroom.
"I think he deserved everything he got."
State District Judge Jim Hall became stern. "Your view
of Noah Rodriguez is the same as my view of you," he said. Then Hall sentenced Lopez
to life in prison for the murder - which is mandatory for first-degree murders in New
Mexico - plus 19 years for his convictions on charges of false imprisonment and tampering
with evidence and another 19 years for two felony convictions stemming from a jailhouse
disturbance last year.
This sentence, together with the 28-year sentence Lopez
previously received for evidence tampering in the Rodriguez case, means Lopez will serve a
sentence of life plus 66 years. Even if he earns "good time" in prison, Lopez
will be in his 80s before being released from the penitentiary - barring the conviction
being overturned on appeal.
As sheriff's deputies led Lopez from the courtroom, the
killer turned to the Rodriguez family and said, using an expletive, "I'm glad he ...
died."
The seven-woman, five-man jury took only 45 minutes to
convict Lopez. Prosecutor Linda Lonsdale said it is the fastest jury deliberation in a
murder case she can remember.
It was Lopez's second trial for murdering Rodriguez. In July
the first trial ended with a hung jury - with 11 jurors voting to convict Lopez for
first-degree murder.
District Attorney Henry Valdez, who prosecuted the case with
Lonsdale, said now that the trial is over, people can remember Rodriguez in the light he
deserves. "The verdict has vindicated Noah Rodriguez," he said. "We lost an
outstanding member of our community. Now we should remember Noah Rodriguez for who he was
- someone who cared about our kids."
Rodriguez won a national award for his teaching at DeVargas
Junior High School. He also taught at Santa Fe Community College.
Valdez also said he was glad jurors rejected Lopez's claim
that he stabbed Lopez after the teacher made an unwelcome sexual advance.
Rodriguez's brothers and sisters - who attended every day of
the trial - expressed relief at the verdict. "I'm just happy it's over," said
Bernadette Ault.
Asked what it was like hearing Lopez insult their brother,
Angel Sanford said, "It was like pouring salt into an open wound."
Herman Rodriguez said he felt bad for Lopez's family. His
sisters agreed. "We both love our brothers," Ault said. "We love Noah and
they love Arthur. (Lopez's attorney) Steve Aarons was right. It was a tragedy for two
families."
Lopez's parents, Art and Caroline Lopez of Moriarty,
expressed anger at the jury's verdict and the judge's sentence.
Asked about her son's words about Rodriguez, she said,
"That's his reaction. I don't blame him." "He asked for a change of venue
twice and they denied it both times," Caroline Lopez said. She said she is convinced
that her son was convicted because Rodriguez was a local teacher and her son was from out
of town.
Jurors interviewed after the verdict was announced said that
all 12 jurors were in favor of a first-degree murder conviction for Lopez.
One female juror, who asked not to be named, said she first
started leaning toward believing Lopez was guilty after prosecutors played a police 911
tape, in which Rodriguez's screams for mercy could be heard in the background as a
neighbor called to report a disturbance next door. Three neighbors in the 100 block of
West Coronado Road - where Lopez lived in a rented guest house - and nearby West Houghton
Street reported hearing someone screaming about 3 a.m. Oct. 13, 1996.
Police drove by the house, but said dispatchers never told
them the exact addresses of the people who called.
The following Monday, when Rodriguez did not show up at
DeVargas, his family reported him missing. Rodriguez's bloodstained car was found on
Houghton Street on Oct. 17.
Police solved the case in late October when a young auto
burglar who was arrested told detectives that he had seen Lopez cleaning blood from his
home and that Lopez told him he had killed the missing teacher.
In sentencing Lopez, Hall noted his lengthy criminal record.
Among Lopez's convictions are a 1991 case in which he pointed a gun at a Moriarty
convenience store clerk; a conviction of assaulting an officer in the early 1990s when he
pushed a deputy who was guarding his brother at an Albuquerque hospital; a burglary
conviction for an incident in which he and his brother went to a former friend's house,
forced their way in, beat up the resident and damaged property.
After Lopez's arrest, his friends said he was a member of the
Brew Town gang in Albuquerque but was not active in gang life in Santa Fe.
Lopez, who was not married, has a young son who friends said
lived with his mother out of town.
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