Man convicted of 5 DUI’s charged with murder in California hit-and-run

A man who has been convicted of DUI charges five times was charged with murder in the hit-and-run killing of a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol, the district attorney in Orange County, California, announced Thursday.

Jonathan Lopez, 31, of Orange, California, has been charged with one felony count each of murder, hit and run with permanent injury or death, evading while driving recklessly, DUI with three or more priors and driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher.

He could also be charged with driving on a suspended license, a misdemeanor. Lopez faces a maximum sentence of 18 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges against him.

“An innocent man is dead because someone without a license who has been prohibited from driving because of his extensive DUI history decided to ignore every warning he was ever given that drinking and driving can be deadly and get behind the wheel while intoxicated,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release.

According to the DA’s office, Lopez was driving in Orange around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday and hit a man walking across the street.

Lopez was “seen drinking alcohol and flipping officers off” after the hit-and-run, according to the DA’s office.

He led officers on a “short high-speed pursuit,” in which he ran a red light and three stop signs before police could catch up to him and arrest him, the DA’s office said.

Lopez’s five prior DUI convictions date back to 2011, according to the DA’s office. He served 16 months in county jail after pleading guilty in December 2021 to one felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol, one felony count of driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher and one misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license.  

“It is clear this individual has absolutely no regard for human life and no respect for the rule of law,” Spitzer said. “Not even jail time could prevent him from putting his own selfish actions over the lives of everyone else on the road that day.”