A 21-year-old man was convicted Wednesday of fatally stabbing his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend and injuring a school administrator and another student who tried to intervene during a lunch break confrontation at a South Gate high school.
Jurors deliberated less than a day before finding Abraham Lopez of South Gate guilty of first-degree murder and false imprisonment in the Sept. 30, 2011, stabbing death of Cindi Santana at South East High School, according to Deputy District Attorney Brandon K. Wong.
The jury also convicted Lopez of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon involving a school dean and a school football player who were stabbed after they tried to intervene, as well as three counts of assault on a peace officer and two counts each of bringing a weapon on school grounds and resisting an executive officer.
Jurors acquitted him of a third count of assault with a deadly weapon and a criminal threats charge involving another person who tried to intervene after Santana’s stabbing.
The victim had ended a three-year relationship with Lopez, according to Wong.
Lopez grabbed the teen in a headlock after she flagged down a school dean, who was stabbed when she tried to intervene, the prosecutor said. A football player who also tried to come to the girl’s aid was also stabbed before Lopez stabbed his former girlfriend twice in the back. She died later that day during surgery.
Lopez, who was 18 at the time, was subdued by school police and staff members.
An April 13 sentencing date is scheduled for the defendant, who is facing 26 years to life for Santana’s killing, along with nearly 17 years on the other counts, according to the prosecutor.
— City News Service