Montclair Gangster to be sentenced for Murder

W.Devil Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:19 pm

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Despite threats and fear for her life, the girlfriend of Jose Lopez testified at a preliminary trial for his homicide case Thursday.

Before she took the stand, the woman who is pregnant with her boyfriend's baby cried in the hallway and appeared shaken up.

"Are you scared to be here?" Deputy District Attorney Tom Colclough asked her in West Valley Superior Court.

"Very," she said.

Lopez, 25, is accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old George Salsgiver of Ontario on July 24 in the parking lot of a Stater Bros. supermarket in Montclair.

An alleged gang member from Montclair, Lopez faces a maximum prison term of at least 50 years to life if convicted of the charges against him.

The woman, whose name was withheld for concern of retaliation, agreed to testify against Lopez when she pleaded guilty to charges in August that she was an accessory to the killing after the fact.

During the preliminary hearing Thursday, police officers from Montclair and Ontario testified and a gang specialist discussed Lopez's possible gang ties.

After several witnesses, Judge Stephan G. Saleson ruled Lopez must stand trial on murder charges. He will be back in court Oct. 8 for an arraignment.

About 9:30 p.m. the night of the shooting, the woman said she and Lopez were grocery shopping at the market.

They were waiting to drive out of the parking lot when a stranger, who was talking on a cell

phone, walked up to the window of the car and started looking at them.

The man walked around to Lopez, who was driving, and exchanged curse words with him, then walked away, the woman said.

Lopez got out of the car. The woman said she heard arguing, then loud noises, which she described as a pop or a bang.

After a few seconds, Lopez walked back to the car. They drove to a fast food restaurant, got dinner and went home, she said.

Witnesses said they attempted CPR on the victim but he was unresponsive. Salsgiver, who was shot once in his upper body, was pronounced dead at the scene.

About four hours after the shooting, police said they found Lopez's vehicle in front of the apartment in the 9000 block of Pradera Avenue in Montclair, less than a mile and a half from the market.

Inside the apartment, a chrome revolver, the suspected weapon in the shooting, was discovered in an attic area, police officers testified.