News & Announcements

Commonwealth's Attorney

Posted on: October 2, 2019

Judge Imposes Ten Years for Larceny of Firearm and Vehicles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 2, 2019

Contact: Heather F. Williamson
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office
20 East Market Street
Leesburg, VA  20176-2809
(703) 777-0242

Judge Imposes Ten Years for Larceny of Firearm and Vehicles

Defendant Ordered to Pay Over $49,000 in Restitution

LEESBURG, Virginia – September 27, 2019.  Dennis Jose Lopez, 21, appeared before Judge James P. Fisher in Loudoun County Circuit Court to be sentenced on one count of grand larceny of a firearm and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny of a firearm.  Fisher sentenced Lopez to an active sentence of ten years in the Virginia Department of Corrections.  

In August 2018, the victim awoke to discover that his wife’s 2017 BMW X3 and her 2017 Porsche Macan had been stolen from their Ashburn townhome.  The victim also discovered that his .50-caliber rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition had been stolen from inside his garage.  The victim was able to provide law enforcement with clips from his motion-activated security cameras.  Law enforcement collected fingerprints and sent them to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science to be analyzed.  The fingerprints were matched with existing fingerprints in the FBI database for Dennis Jose Lopez.

Lopez was subsequently arrested and interviewed by law enforcement.  During the interview, Lopez admitted to stealing the rifle and the Porsche.  The Porsche was recovered from an auto auction in New Jersey and the whereabouts of the BMW and .50-caliber rifle remain unknown.

“While some may look at this a simply a property crime, the reality is that this defendant was immersed in the movement of stolen property, including firearms,” said Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Nicole Wittmann.  “Many property crimes are not as simple as they may appear on their face and they deeply impact the quality of lives of our residents every day.  This is why a strong message of accountability is important to creating a deterrent.  That combination helps Loudoun maintain our low crime rate,” continued Wittmann.

Lopez entered pleas of guilty to the charges on August 23, 2019.

Prior to imposing a sentence, Judge Fisher noted that the Virginia Sentencing Guidelines for the case were “wholly inappropriate and inadequate.”  Fisher addressed the defendant directly, “You preyed upon residents who have every right to have their property and home protected.”  “You’re a criminal and the Court will treat you like one,” said Fisher.

Fisher imposed an additional fifteen years suspended time, conditioned upon Lopez’s good behavior and his successful completion of five years supervised probation upon his release from prison.  Fisher further ordered that Lopez pay $49,311.45 in restitution to the victim.

At the time of sentencing, Lopez had six pending charges in Maryland related to Stolen Firearms, Use of Restricted Ammunition, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and unclassified Weapons Offenses.  Lopes had one prior conviction on his record for Destruction of Public Property in the District of Columbia from 2017.

###


Facebook Twitter Email

Other News in Commonwealth's Attorney

Anibal Lopez Lopez Sentenced to 28 Years

Posted on: January 25, 2024 | Last Modified on: June 5, 2018
Cash, Phillip

Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 years in Prison

Posted on: September 17, 2019
Warnick. Timothy

Judge Upholds Life Sentence

Posted on: March 12, 2019

National Crime Victims' Rights Week

Posted on: March 14, 2017
Alvarenga, Jose Israel.jpg

MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to Prison

Posted on: November 15, 2016
Cruz Gonzalez, Josue.jpg

MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to Prison

Posted on: November 3, 2016
Alvarenga, Jose Israel.jpg

MS-13 Gang Member Enters Guilty Pleas

Posted on: August 4, 2016