44 year old Jose Lopez Jr. was sentenced to 12 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The district attorney’s office says the attack, in June 2017, took place as the woman was attempting to end her relationship with Lopez and leave their home.
Prosecutors say the victim sustained a shattered nose and swelling to her left eye and left hand…making her unrecognizable to family members.
The jury also heard testimony of unreported assaults and abuse and a prior misdemeanor conviction for family violence assault causing bodily injury.
According to online records, when Lopez went to the Brazos County jail following the trial, that was his 17th booking since January 2005. In the more than four years since his arrest in this case in December 2017, Lopez was out of jail on bond for all but 12 days.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, a Brazos County jury sentenced Jose Lopez, Jr. to 12 years in prison for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon for attacking his wife in their home.
The State presented evidence that on June 23, 2017, Jose Lopez, Jr. punched and stomped on his wife after she attempted to end their relationship and leave the home.
During the assault, Lopez grabbed the victim by her hair and punched her several times in the face. The victim’s teenage son was in the home during the assault and attempted to intervene by pulling Lopez off of his mother. However, Lopez continued punching and stomping on the victim’s face while she was on the ground in a fetal position. Law enforcement officers arrived quickly, but Lopez had already fled the scene.
Testimony from a Bryan Fire Department medic and law enforcement indicated that the injuries they observed were extensive and needed immediate medical attention at a hospital.
The victim was transported to St. Joseph’s hospital were she was treated for several injuries, including a shattered nose and substantial swelling to her left eye and left hand. When the victim’s family arrived at the hospital, her injuries were so severe, she was unrecognizable.
The State also presented evidence that the victim previously suffered from an aneurysm and underwent a craniotomy on the left side of her head, which is where Lopez primarily targeted her during the assault.
Witnesses testified to Lopez’s history of assaultive and abusive behavior that went unreported, including a prior unadjudicated assault in 2012 that sent the victim to the hospital.
The jury heard evidence of Lopez’s prior criminal history, including misdemeanor convictions for Assault Bodily Injury-Family Violence and Driving While Intoxicated with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) over 0.15.