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Byline: Jeff Jones Journal Staff Writer
Suspect Re-Arrested Soon After Release
A man suspected of stealing two cars minutes after his release from jail is innocent, his attorney said Monday, adding the man has allegedly been brutalized twice by Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies.
Armando Lopez Jr., 28, was released from the county detention center early Aug. 15 and was arrested one hour later after he allegedly stole and wrecked one car, stole another and led a deputy on a high-speed chase. Deputies allegedly found Lopez's jail-release paperwork in the wrecked vehicle.
Lopez had pleaded guilty to a pair of burglary charges the day before his most recent arrest, a judge said. He told the judge he had been accepted into a Christian outreach group and convinced the judge to let him out of jail pending his sentencing.
Lopez is now being held in jail without bond. But his civil attorney, John McCall, said Monday that Lopez proclaims his innocence. A news release from McCall said Lopez was "attempting to get a ride home," and McCall said Lopez maintains he wasn't behind the wheel of any stolen vehicles.
Lopez was arrested Feb. 9 after an alleged break-in. In ...