Antioch man arrested for murder after shooting Pittsburg man who stole his van, Friday night

By Acting Lieutenant Tom Fuhrmann, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Friday, February 5, 2016 at approximately 8:31 p.m. Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to 20 E. 18th Street on the reports of shots fired in the Rite Aid parking lot . Upon arrival Officers located 37 year old Leo Lopez of Antioch. Lopez advised he was just the victim of a carjacking at gunpoint and his white van was gone. Almost simultaneously the Antioch Police Department began receiving calls of a white van that had crashed into a parked car and came to rest in the front yard of a residence on W. 17th Street, west of A Street. Officers responded to that scene as well. On 17th Street they found Lopez’s van had crashed and the driver, a 27 year old male out of Pittsburg, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was deceased.

Upon further investigation it was learned that Lopez had parked in the Rite Aid lot and was sitting in his van while using his phone. While sitting in his van a subject unknown to him opened the door and got in and attempted to rob him at gunpoint. Lopez fled from the van and the unknown subject drove off in Lopez’s van. As the van was driving away, Lopez produced his own firearm and fired multiple shots into his own van.

Lopez was subsequently arrested and will be booked into the Contra Costa County Jail for murder.

This case is still under investigation. No further information will be released at this time. Anybody having information related to this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Dee at (925) 779-6884. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.


5 Comments to “Antioch man arrested for murder after shooting Pittsburg man who stole his van, Friday night”

  1. skip says:

    Welcome to Antioch. The APD kills someone after a “violent” confrontation and no one blinks. A citizen defends himself from an armed attacker and is now being booked for murder. I guess the APD doesn’t care for competition. The DA who filed the charges should be fired.

    • mickey smithson says:

      Ditto. Dude steals his ride at gunpoint and its the citizens fault for stopping him? We gotta change these loony liberal laws. Remember to vote in November folks.

    • liberty says:

      Get a Clue…
      Police, and the KING, is the enemy of the people.

      Every one who rents, is a pan in play. Law enforcement play the renters against the owners who occupy their homes. This TACTIC, has been used for century’s by the wealthy elite class against the under class population, who hold their heads high in deny a that such things go on in this modern time.

      What fools they are. While State Government builds their army of Police, the losers of our freedom lay back snacking watching TV. Allowing the Freedom we had disorder without the slightest resistance.

      No one is safe from attack in California !!!

      GET A CLUE!!!!!!

  2. scc says:

    I find it funny how both men were armed though what a strange coincidence..NOT. Come on you have to be stupid to believe it was like that exactly. The law states we CAN NOT take the law into our own hands. I think this is horrible…I didn’t know a life was worth a car. Plus the deceased is no longer here to speak for himself. How are they positive it went down like that? They CAN’T be.Hopefully the investigation will be ongoing.

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