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An unlicensed driver with multiple DUI convictions accused of leading
police on a brief pursuit after they say he struck and killed a pedestrian
in Orange pulled out a can of malt liquor and flipped off officers before
being taken into custody, a prosecutor told a court commissioner on
Thursday.

Jonathan Lopez, 31, is facing a half-dozen criminal charges, including
felony counts of murder, hit-and-run, evading a police officer and driving under the influence, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday
afternoon in Orange County Superior Court.

Authorities have not released the name of the pedestrian Lopez is alleged
to have killed during a suspected alcohol-fueled traffic collision in the
300 block of Tustin Street shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

According to police, Lopez was driving a Toyota sedan northbound on Tustin Street near Palm Avenue when he struck a person who was crossing the
roadway outside of a protected crosswalk. Lopez drove off, police alleged,
but they said his car was spotted by an officer about 10 minutes later.

During a hearing in a Santa Ana courtroom late Thursday, Senior Deputy
District Attorney Brian Orue told Orange County Superior Court
Commissioner Edward W. Hall that Lopez, after leaving a man to die in the roadway, ran a red light and blew through multiple stop signs, at times
driving around 65 mph in 45 mph zones as officers chased him for a little
more than a mile around the city of Orange.

At the end of the pursuit, the prosecutor said, Lopez appeared unsteady as
he exited the vehicle, then pulled out a can of Mickey’s malt liquor and
gave the officers the middle finger.

Lopez had a blood alcohol level of .234 percent, the prosecutor added,
nearly three times the legal limit for driving.

Orue told the commissioner that due to “extreme public safety concerns,”
Lopez needed to be held without bail.

The prosecutor said that Lopez has five previous DUI convictions in
California. According to court records, that includes convictions in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2021. Orue did not specify where in California the fifth
one was. He also told the commissioner that he believes Lopez may have one
or two other DUI convictions from Wisconsin.

Hall agreed that Lopez should remain in county lockup without bail.

“This is a tragedy for everybody, a tragedy for society,” the commissioner said.

Lopez, who appeared via video from county jail, did not speak during the
brief hearing and did not enter a plea. His next court hearing is
scheduled for March 29.

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/03/14/driver-charged-in-fatal-orange-hit- run-had-can-of-malt-liquor-flipped-off-police-prosecutor-says/

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