SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 28, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City Police Department has arrested an 18-year-old man in connection to the Sept. 17 aggravated assault near East High School.
Leonardo Vasquez Lopez faces that charge, a third-degree felony, and a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, also a third-degree felony.
The assault was on a 17-year-old boy who tried to intervene in a “domestic disturbance between a female and Lopez,” says a statement released Tuesday by the SLCPD. “The secondary fight ended when Lopez pulled out a firearm and used the weapon to strike the 17 year old in the head. No shots were fired. Lopez left the area before officers arrived.”
On Saturday, SLCPD detectives developed information leading to Lopez’s whereabouts and took him into custody.
The assault took place at approximately 10 p.m. on Sept. 17, following a football game, Lopez’s probable cause statement says.
“A crowd of several juveniles ran up to officers in a panic. Witnesses reported there was a man with a gun who had pistol-whipped a student during an altercation. It was reported to officers that a juvenile student physically intervened to prevent a male, identified as Leonardo Lopez, from assaulting another female student from East High.”
The statement says Lopez had shown up with his girlfriend to confront a female student, “and was trying to get them to fight. Lopez was reportedly confronting the East juvenile female student.”
The statement says after the male juvenile attempted to intervene, he was struck in the head with a black handgun at least two times.
Multiple students named Lopez as being the man with the gun, the statement says.
“The Salt Lake City Police Department recognizes the work of its school resources officers for their dedicated work on this case,” the SLCPD news release says.
Bail for Lopez was set at $2,500. Jail records show he is no longer in custody.
