SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County district attorney will not pursue the death penalty against the man charged in the shooting death of a police chief last summer.
District Attorney Nicholas LaHood on Tuesday cited Joshua Manuel Lopez's mental health and lack of criminal record as reasons the penalty will not be sought if he's convicted.
Investigators say Elmendorf Police Chief Michael Pimentel was shot twice while making a traffic stop in August to serve a misdemeanor warrant for graffiti. They identify the 25-year-old Lopez as the shooter.
Lopez is charged with capital murder and the only sentencing option now available if he's convicted, is life in prison without parole.
The 64-year-old Pimentel had been police chief in Elmendorf, southeast of San Antonio, for about 18 months when he was killed.
