HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A Houston man was sentenced to 35 years in prison after he took off his ankle monitor and committed a murder in the Cypress-area.
Jordan Isaiha Lopez, 22, was sentenced on Thursday for the 2018 slaying, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
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“We are already dealing with rampant gun crime, and the situation gets worse when criminals can simply remove the ankle monitors they are supposed to wear as a condition of bond,” Ogg said. “It is a tragedy that a young man lost his life to someone who took advantage of the system to commit murder while free on bond.”
In July of 2018, Lopez and a second man went to 19-year-old Austin Balogun’s house, and they tied him up to rob him.
Lopez pointed a gun at Balogun in his bedroom. The victim was later able to find a gun, and he shot Lopez in the hand.
Lopez then killed Balogun and left the area.
He was required to be wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor due to being out on bond. Lopez was issued the device after he was arrested in connection to a home invasion case six months earlier.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigated the murder. Assistant District Attorneys Chris Condon, Elizabeth Liberman and Chris Handley prosecuted the case.
“We appreciate the jury and the judge hearing all of the facts in this case and ensuring that we could get this guy off the street,” Condon said. “We were honored to work with the victim’s mother to get justice for her and her son.”