8th Judicial judge finds probable cause in case against Colorado Springs man accused of attempted murder – Loveland Reporter-Herald

An 8th Judicial District Court judge has found probable cause in the felony charges against a Colorado Springs man accused of attempted murder, among other charges, for an incident last year.

Jesus Lopez-Zavala, 36, appeared before Judge Joseph Findley Monday afternoon for a multi-hour preliminary hearing, during which Deputy District Attorney Erin Butler called forward three investigators who worked on the case to testify.

Lopez-Zavala was arrested last August for allegedly breaking into a residence in the 3200 block of West Eisenhower Boulevard and threatening two people with a hatchet before a fight broke out, ultimately injuring him and one of the victims.

He has since been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, a class 2 felony; first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury, a class 3 felony; first-degree burglary, a class 3 felony; two counts of felony menacing, a class 5 felony; criminal mischief, a class 6 felony; and violation of a protection order, a class 1 misdemeanor, as well as five sentence enhancers of crime of violence.

He also faces another case where he has been charged with possession of fentanyl, a class 4 drug felony; resisting judgment, a class 2 misdemeanor; obstructing a peace officer; a class 2 misdemeanor; possession of drug paraphernalia, a drug petty offense; and tampering with physical evidence, a class 1 misdemeanor.

Butler first called Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Neil Baker, who responded to the residence in the early morning of Aug. 10 on a report of a disturbance. Baker stated that when he and another deputy arrived at the home, he spoke with the male victim who said Lopez-Zavala had come and knocked on the door looking for his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child at the time.

Baker said the man told him Lopez-Zavala accused him of having an affair with his girlfriend, the female victim in the case, and, after the man closed the door, threatened to kill both of them. The man said after this he heard glass breaking as a window on the house was shattered, later adding while he did not see it happen he believed it was Lopez-Zavala who had done it.

A few hours later the same morning, Baker was called back out to the residence after a 911 call that claimed Lopez-Zavala had come back to the house, broke a window and entered the home with an ax or hatchet-type tool. He said he later learned Lopez-Zavala had allegedly returned to the residence, broken in and was chasing his girlfriend when the male victim stabbed him in the back and the two began to wrestle on the ground in front of the hatchet.

Under questioning from William Holtz, Lopez-Zavala’s attorney, Baker said the female victim had said she was in a relationship with Lopez-Zavala and they had been living in a tent in Loveland together, that he had temper problems and that they had had a fight the night before.

Butler then called LCSO Investigator Mark Johnston who interviewed the male victim at McKee Medical Center following the incident.

Johnston said the man told him that he was at the house, which belonged to his friend, and the female victim was there. He told a similar story of the first incident, adding as well that the man received multiple calls from Lopez-Zavala after he first left the scene in which he threatened to kill both the male victim and his girlfriend if she was still there when he came back.

Johnston said the man told him that when Lopez-Zavala came back and allegedly broke into the bedroom window where he and the female victim were at, he told her to run while he went and grabbed a knife from the kitchen to defend himself. He said the female victim ran out of the bedroom and as Lopez-Zavala allegedly chased her, the man called out after him and stabbed him in the back with the knife. He then said the two wrestled on the ground for the hatchet which Lopez-Zavala eventually let go of.

Baker also said that during this fight Lopez-Zavala hit the male victim on the head with the hatchet, causing an injury to the left side of his head.

Holtz asked Johnston on the severity of the man’s injuries, ultimately saying that the doctor who attended to him did not sign off on a form stating he had suffered serious bodily injury.

Finally, Butler called Pete Mesecher, who currently works for the DA’s office but was with the LCSO at the time of the incident.

Mesecher said that he interviewed Lopez-Zavala around five days after the incident at Medical Center of the Rockies. During that interview, Lopez-Zavala admitted to having gone to the home in the morning and breaking the window next to the front door, but said that when he went back later he unscrewed the window off with a screwdriver to get in and was chasing his girlfriend inside to try to talk when he was stabbed in the back.

He also said that he was “pissed off” at the situation and was just trying to get his girlfriend to come back with him. Mesecher later said the man denied to bringing the hatchet with him.

Mesecher also spoke of an interview the female victim did with another investigator. He said she had reported she was in a relationship with Lopez-Zavala and was pregnant with his child at the time. She said during the first incident she could hear Lopez-Zavala arguing with the male victim but did not see him and that when Lopez-Zavala came back, she saw him banging on the window with the hatchet before breaking in. She said when this happened she fled the home to a nearby motel where she called 911.

Mesecher added the female victim said she had seen the hatchet previously and that Lopez-Zavala kept it in a backpack that was also found at the scene along with several other tools.

Holtz asked Mesecher on Lopez-Zavala’s denial of having brought having a hatchet when he came to the home as well as his mentioning that he was concerned for the woman and baby’s safety because people in the house were allegedly using meth.

Butler, following the testimony, argued that she had met the burden of proof in showing probable cause, saying that had the male victim not intervened and the woman could have been killed.

Holtz first focused on the assault causing serious bodily injury count, saying he did not believe the injury the man sustained reached that bar. He also attempted the attempted murder and menacing charges relating to the female victim, saying she ran from the home when Lopez-Zavala allegedly broke in and had no other contact with him afterward.

Findley ultimately ruled in favor of the prosecution, finding probable cause in all the felony charges against Lopez-Zavala. He scheduled him to return for an arraignment at 2 pm July 18.