WESTWOOD—On Wednesday, February 5, the LADA disclosed that James Joshua Lopez, 24, was charged with murder in connection with the January 26 stabbing death of Amanda Torres, 28, in downtown Los Angeles.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman noted that Torres was a “compassionate leader’ and recently graduated from UCLA and was a community organizer.
Lopez, of Los Angeles faces one count of murder with an allegation of personal use of deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife. His bail has been set at $2.02 million. His arraignment was set for March 3, Dept. 30 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
It was reported that on January 26 at around 12:40 a.m., Lopez is accused of fatally stabbing Torres after the victim intervened trying to protect her brother, who had been allegedly attacked by a group of men at a party in the 1100 block of S. Los Angeles Street. Torres was stabbed in the neck by the suspect.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Cristhian Ochoa and Monique Pahuja of the Central Trials-13 Division. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Charges filed in the case are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted as charged, Lopez faces up to 26 years to life in prison.
By Trevor