San Angelo Police have arrested two people in connection with the death of 21-year-old Joe Carlos Lopez, the skateboarder who was struck by an SUV on S. Chadbourne St. on August 2, 2015.
Christopher Lee Mata, 39, and Nicole Lorelle Johnson, 40, of San Angelo were arrested this evening and charged with Felony Failure to Stop and Render Aid (Accident Involving Death).
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Above: Christopher Lee Mata, 39, and Nicole Lorelle Johnson, 40, of San Angelo were arrested Dec. 22, 2015 and charged with Felony Failure to Stop and Render Aid (Accident Involving Death).
The incident happened in the early morning hours of Aug. 2 when a body was discovered near the curb in front of the Cossack’s Motorcycle Club building. Lopez was declared deceased and a police investigation of a hit-and-run was initiated.
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Above: Police investigate a dead man found laying in the roadway of Chadbourne St. next to a skateboard Aug. 2, 2015. (LIVE! Photo/John Basquez)
The next day, police found footage from a video surveillance system near the site of the incident at the intersection of S. Chadbourne and E. Ave. I. The suspect’s vehicle was a Ford, police said; probably an SUV like an Explorer or Expedition.
But no witnesses came forward with enough evidence to make an arrest.
One month later, the mother of the deceased, Rose Marie Lopez issued an online video plea asking for whoever saw the hit-and-run to come forward.
But nothing materialized until today, 4.5 months later.
Mata was arrested Sept. 25 and released the next day on bond for Tampering /Fabricating with Physical Evidence with Intent to Impair. The date of the offense, according to arrest records, was Aug. 2, the same date as the hit-an-run that killed Lopez.
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Above: Joe Lopez was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Aug. 2 downtown. Police are still seeking information that will help them catch his killer. (Photo/Screenshot)
The details that led to the arrests will be released Wednesday, police said.
Read previous stories on the case of the hit-and-run death of Joe Lopez here.
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