September 16, 2019- Commonwealth v. Victor Gonzalez-Lopez:  On September 16, 2019, the Honorable Scott Arthur Evans sentenced Victor Gonzalez-Lopez to an aggregate sentence of 6-16 years of state incarceration for firing a bullet into the home of his ex-girlfriend.  After a week of trial and deliberations a Dauphin County jury convicted Gonzalez-Lopez on July 12, 2019, of Aggravated Assault,  Possession of a Firearm Prohibited, Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Structure, and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.  Judge Evans ran the sentences for the first three charges consecutive to each other, citing the defendant’s separate criminal conduct for each charge.  

On October 8, 2017, at 12:38 a.m., Victor Gonzalez-Lopez fired a .40 caliber bullet into the home of his ex-girlfriend and her daughter.  The bullet entered the home through the daughter’s closet, hit the wall just above her bed, ricocheted off of the wall, and burned her leg.  Gonzalez-Lopez immediately left the area and traveled to a bar before returning to home, where he was taken into custody. Gonzalez-Lopez tested positive for gunshot residue (GSR) that night.  During the investigation, which was led by Detective Darryl Brown of the Susquehanna Township Police Department, Gonzalez-Lopez provided three conflicting stories regarding his whereabouts that evening. All three stories contradicted his cell phone record locations and witness testimony.  Records further demonstrated that Gonzalez-Lopez lied about buying and owning a .40 Ruger pistol.  Gonzalez-Lopez was not permitted to own or possess a firearm due to a final Protection from Abuse (PFA) order.

First on-scene for the Susquehanna Township Police Department that evening were Patrolman Ben Lauver and PFC Eric Nelson.  Penbrook, Highspire, and Lower Paxton Township Police Departments also assisted with the initial investigation.  Members of Dauphin County CID, the Pennsylvania State Police, Capital Police, and the Swatara Township Police Department assisted with subsequent evidence analysis. Lt. Francia Done of the Susquehanna Police, a certified linguist, assisted with all aspects of the investigation, including witness interviews, while Detective James Glucksman of Lower Paxton mapped Gonzalez-Lopez’s cell phone locations.

 “The bravery of the victims throughout the entire process, combined with the dedicated efforts of so many police departments, made the effective prosecution and sentencing of this case possible.”- Erin Varley, Deputy District Attorney