Española Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Jail for Carjacking

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Martin Lopez was sentenced to 9 years in prison. A federal jury convicted Lopez, 38, of Española, New Mexico, on Oct. 14, 2022, of one count each of carjacking and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

A federal grand jury indicted Lopez on March 12, 2021. According to court records, on Oct. 31, 2020, the victim, identified as Jane Doe 1, who had been dating Lopez, ended the relationship that morning. Later that same day, she and a friend, Jane Doe 2, attempted to deliver Lopez’s belongings to his friend who worked at an O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store in Española. As Jane Doe 1 was retrieving Lopez’s belongings from her vehicle, Lopez appeared, threatened both women with a gun, forced his way into the driver’s seat and drove away with the two Jane Does.

Lopez struck both victims with his gun as he drove to nearby apartment complex where he pushed Jane Doe 2 out of the moving vehicle. Lopez threatened to kill her if she called the police. Before being pushed out, Jane Doe 2 was able to dial 911. The 911 recording captured the victims’ terrified screams and was played for the jury at trial. Lopez continued to drive Jane Doe 1 to a secondary location for a period of time.  Later, New Mexico State Police were able to locate the car, Jane Doe 1, and Lopez. However, when law enforcement arrived, Lopez fled the area in Jane Doe 1’s vehicle.

Lopez has prior domestic violence related misdemeanor convictions from 2014, wherein he was given a suspended sentence and his probation was revoked three times. Lopez has been arrested on at least four other occasions for felony charges, none of which resulted in a conviction. Lopez’s sentencing guidelines were calculated at 154 to 177 months. The United States requested a sentence of 177 months. The court imposed a sentence of 108 months (9 years) imprisonment. 

The United States commends Jane Doe 2 and the other witnesses who testified in this case.

Upon his release from prison, Lopez will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Mexico State Police investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jaymie L. Roybal and Letitia Carroll Simms are prosecuting the case.

Anyone experiencing domestic violence or who knows someone experiencing domestic violence can reach an advocate at the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). In New Mexico, the Domestic Violence Resource Center is available by telephone at (505) 843-9123 or online at https://dvrcnm.org/.

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