July 26 (UPI) — Close to midnight on Sunday, Southaven, Miss., police arrived at the wrong house to serve an arrest warrant and shot a man dead in his own home, according to reports.
Ismael Lopez, 41, was shot dead late Sunday night after he checked to see who was at his front door. But the police were supposed to be across the street to serve an arrest warrant for Samuel Pearman, who was wanted on an assault charge, reported WREG.
“Someone didn’t take the time to analyze the address,” said Murray Wells, the attorney representing Lopez’s family. “This is incredibly tragic and embarrassing to this police department that they can’t read house numbers.”
DeSoto County Prosecutor John Champion said it was “possible” that police went to the wrong house and confirmed that Lopez’s name was not on the warrant.
“He was not wanted for anything at all,” Champion said of Lopez. “I want to make that abundantly clear.”
But police officers said they were forced to shoot Lopez when he opened his front door and his pet pit bull charged at them. Police said they opened fire at the dog and saw Lopez holding a gun from behind his door.
“One of the officers did fire a shot at the pit bull dog. While this was going on, they also noticed at the time that a gun was pointed outside the residence,” Champion said. “At this point, the officers began hollering ‘put the gun down, put the gun down,’ at which point that did not occur and there were more than one shot was fired toward the door and there was a male subject inside the residence that was killed.”
Speaking on behalf of the Lopez family, Jordan Castillo, 23, told the Commercial Appeal that Lopez’s wife disputed the police version of events. He said police began firing through a closed door and that Lopez never picked up his firearm, which she said was found by police in the usual spot he always keeps it in the living room.
“She said when he got up, she heard the footsteps all the way up to the door, she heard the doorknob turn, and then after the doorknob turned it was just gunshots from there,” Castillo said.
“Bullet holes suggest they shot through the door,” Wells said.
According to Wells, Lopez had lived in the neighborhood for 13 years and worked as an auto mechanic for the city of Bartlett, about 23 miles away.
“The only time the police had ever been there was when they had been robbed,” he said.
The officer who killed Lopez has been placed on leave during the investigation.
Damned morons.need to be disarmed..
Absurd.
No culpability. Just an accident. It can happen to anyone!!!
Sigh.
I’m betting they shot him through the door
I’m also betting they will not do 1 day in jail for this
Hey , I answer my front door at night ( really anytime) armed with my dogs by my side . I also don’t open the door
They can hear me just fine yelling through the door . I stay armed inside my home for the possibly of a home invasion, ain’t got time to go get it when in a few seconds the criminals are in your living room
There is zero reason for a pig to ever be at my door at any time
So , with that being said
Maybe it’s time for us to start shooting first and ask questions later? Or make up the story afterwards?
No different than what the pigs are doing
^What he said^
I will add that my friend who is an ex CA gang member (one of the best human souls I’ve met, he was born into the culture) noted that the assassins in the gang would ring the bell or knock, then shoot through the door when they heard a voice on the other side, might be prudent to stand off to the side of the doorway or just not answer at all.
dam good point
When enough of these gestapo thug bastards get their heads blown off, this kind of garbage will come to an end. Until then, expect more and more of this kind of insanity.
I dont see this ending.. i see it escalating .. it will morph into other types of entry , or they will follow you and jump you as you leave the 7-11
I have a business next to mine that does repo..I’ve known the owner over 18 years ..
he says getting property back at a residence is a dangerous gig, so they wait and follow them to the first store they walk into
1 guy goes in the store and keeps an eye on the guy while the other guy hooks up to the vehicle
its in public with a lot less chance of getting shot, or shot at
and the guy in the store keeps the guy on the outside informed of where the “target” is and if he’s aware of his car getting repo’ed
I was approached to repo cars and trucks for this guy,part time night job.. I turned it down.. I dont need to ask for trouble
most guys now roll with 1 or 2 big dogs in the repo truck with them
and the guard dogs they have at his yard are no joke ..Im glad the big one loves me (maybe i taste just right?)
“heads blown off” Yes, we need to see more of “the Headless Henchmen”. “Yes Bill, he lost his head.” He had it this morning, set it somewhere and now he can’t remember. “If he only had a brain!”
I do believe a few televised beheadings would be cool. Start with the meter maids and work your way up the gooberment ladder to the top dog. Peach baskets would be a hot item! Get yours early!
skulls fit nicely as fence post toppers