Fresno County teen will not spend decades in prison, after making plea deal in party slaying
An 18-year-old Parlier man, who was facing 50-years-to-life for killing a man at a house party in Reedley, has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
James Lopez changed his plea Thursday from not guilty of murder in the death of 18-year-old Josue Cardenas of Parlier, to no contest for voluntary manslaughter.
Lopez also pleaded no contest to assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.
His lawyer Antonio Alvarez said his client felt threatened the night of the party in Reedley. Lopez will be sentenced on March 10 before Judge Samuel Dalesandro in Dept. 31.
Alvarez said Lopez could go to jail for up to 11 years, a sentence that’s considerably lighter than the maximum penalty he would have faced if a jury found him guilty of murder.
“He was looking at 50 years to life,” Alvarez said.
Police said the fatal shooting took place just after midnight on July 26. Officers responded to a report of gunshots at a home in the 900 block of East Springfield Avenue.
When they arrived they found a 21-year-old man sitting on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his leg. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Officers then made their way to the backyard of the home and found Cardenas on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.
Cardenas was pronounced dead at the scene.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
