LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Henderson Metropolis Council will focus on at its subsequent assembly a $595,000 settlement with a person — a embellished Navy veteran with no legal historical past — who a police detective mistakenly accused of a collection of burglaries and robberies ensuing within the man’s arrest and eight days “in isolation” in jail, paperwork obtained by the 8 Information Now Investigators reveal.
Paperwork — together with a letter from the person’s legal professional in San Diego, California — present Alexander Fidel Lopez, 33, was wrongfully arrested and detained as a result of police tied him to a cellphone quantity he hadn’t used since 2018. Alexander Fidel Lopez was 350 miles away from Henderson on the time of the crime police have been investigating, has a unique birthday than their unique suspect and by no means lived in Henderson or Nevada, paperwork stated.
Alexander Fidel Lopez served within the Navy from 2008-2012 and within the Navy reserves till 2016, his lawyer’s letter stated. He was awarded with medals for achievement, conduct and repair, amongst different issues, and was honorably discharged.
The legal professional’s letter says Henderson police have been investigating a collection of break-ins and a carjacking in December 2023. The sufferer of the carjacking had gone to a particular location to ship a DoorDash order, and police concluded the identical one who was answerable for the carjacking was the identical one who positioned the unique DoorDash order, the lawyer’s letter says. The chain of occasions is corroborated in a number of paperwork originating from the Henderson Police Division.
Finally, {a partially} executed settlement settlement reveals, Henderson police have been capable of determine a suspect named Alexander Lopez utilizing Web and mobile phone information associated to the unique DoorDash order. The legal professional’s letter says a police detective used solely the cellphone quantity related to the DoorDash order and knowledge from the Web. When a police detective went looking for an Alexander Lopez, they discovered Alexander Fidel Lopez, who works as a Federal Transportation Safety officer in San Diego, the settlement settlement says, however has a unique birthday than their unique suspect with the identify Alexander Lopez.
“Unfortunately, the discrepancy in birth year was not caught before a warrant was issued for Mr. Lopez’s arrest,” the settlement settlement says.
Police obtained a warrant for Alexander Fidel Lopez, who was arrested in March 2024 and booked right into a downtown San Diego jail pursuant to that warrant, a Metropolis Council agenda merchandise abstract web page says, including: “He remained detained for eight days, much of the time in isolation.”
Alexander Fidel Lopez stayed in jail till the case was dismissed. The settlement settlement says as soon as the town realized its error, the detective “worked diligently” to withdraw the warrant and have Fidel Lopez launched from jail inside a day.
However the lawyer’s letter blasts HPD.
“If a minimal investigation had been conducted, [the detective] would have discovered Claimant is NOT the subscriber to the phone number connected to the incident he was investigating and had not been the subscriber since 2018,” the doc stated, referring to Fidel Lopez. [The detective] would have additionally found that Claimant has been gainfully employed with TSA since 2018, has no legal historical past by any means, and has not traveled to the State of Nevada in years.”
The Henderson Police Division, in response to an inquiry from the 8 Information Now Investigators on Friday, offered the next assertion over e-mail, which reads in its entirety: “Town acknowledges the incident involving Mr. Lopez’s arrest and the error that led to it. We acknowledge the seriousness of the state of affairs and its impression on him.
“Occurrences like this require reflection and a clear commitment to improvement. As we take this opportunity to learn from the incident, we look forward to working with our incoming police chief, who brings a strong commitment to oversight, training and accountability. The chief is focused on reviewing protocols, strengthening training, and setting clear expectations grounded in integrity, professionalism, and public trust.”
Alexander Fidel Lopez and his legal professional have signed the settlement settlement on the town council’s agenda for Tuesday. Forward of the council assembly, nonetheless, the settlement has not been signed by Henderson’s metropolis supervisor, Stephanie Garcia-Vause, or the town’s legal professional, Nicholas Vaskov. The settlement additionally must be signed by the town’s director of finance.
In 2022, the 8 Information Now Investigators found, by way of federal courtroom filings, a younger Black man spent six days in custody on a warrant involving a middle-aged white man. The person, Shane Lee Brown, 25, didn’t have his identification on the time of his Henderson arrest, however offered police his identify, Social Safety quantity and Social Safety card.
