Illegal Kills Cop During Traffic Stop

(Kenosha, Wisconsin) My sympathies are with the family and friends of Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. who was killed in the line of duty last Wednesday. Ezeiquiel Lopez, a 44-year-old illegal immigrant with a noteworthy criminal record, has been charged with first-degree homicide.

From Chicago Tribune:

According to the charges, Fabiano tried to pull over Lopez, who was driving a maroon Chevrolet mini-van, about 11:35 p.m. Wednesday in Somers, which borders Kenosha.

A police officer from nearby University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Jimmie Spino, went to back up Fabiano. As he parked his car, Spino heard Fabiano order the van driver out, then heard two gunshots and saw two flashes, apparently from the pistol, the criminal complaint said.

Spino returned fire, as the van driver kept firing at the two officers and then ran into a nearby woods.

Fabiano was taken to St. Catherine's Hospital in Pleasant Prairie, where he was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. from a gunshot wound to the head.

Lopez was arrested three hours later in a Kenosha apartment complex. He had a .38-caliber handgun, which matches the weapon used in the shooting, police said.

Lopez's criminal record, going back to 2001, includes arrests for lewd and lascivious conduct, a gun charge, domestic battery, bail jumping, drunken driving and disorderly conduct. In addition to Wisconsin, arrests have occurred in Texas, Utah and Missouri.

Tim Counts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the agency has never even heard about Lopez before. Of course, one could only guess how many aliases Lopez may have used and how many communities gave him sanctuary.

Bond for Lopez was set at $1 million. A court appearance is scheduled for May 29th.