ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A suspect was arrested after a burglary in Orange County ended with deputies fatally shooting the man who called 911, according to the sheriff’s office.
The incident happened earlier this month, with deputies responding to a home along West Castle Street on the night of Feb. 8 in response to the burglary, investigators explained.
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From the backyard, deputies could see two men fighting inside the home, one of whom was holding a knife, an affidavit reveals. It appeared as though the knife-wielding man was holding the other hostage, deputies said.
In response, deputies added that they ordered the two men to come out of the house, with one deputy yelling, “Drop the knife!”
However, the knife-wielding man — later identified as Jose Luis Lopez Lopez, 26 — didn’t comply, leading to two deputies firing on Lopez and ultimately killing him, the affidavit states.
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But investigators said they discovered that Lopez lived in the house and was actually the man who called 911 that night.
Meanwhile, the other man — identified as Cristian Contreras, 25 — later told detectives in an interview that he had been drinking with Lopez and was given permission to stay at the home that night.
“Cristian stated there were no problems and Luis suddenly became violent and attacked him,” the affidavit reads. “Cristian said Luis never had a knife and he tried to communicate with deputies, but he doesn’t speak or understand English, so his communication attempts were unsuccessful.”
According to investigators, detectives eventually learned from a witness that Contreras and Lopez had been drinking with coworkers in a truck, and Contreras had never been invited into the house.
“While drinking, Cristian became upset with Luis because he was asked to contribute to purchasing the alcohol and Cristian refused,” the affidavit continues. “Cristian became very aggressive, broke a beer bottle, and was continuing his aggressive behavior toward Luis. Because of Cristian’s behavior, Luis went inside the residence by himself.”
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As a result, deputies announced on Friday that criminal charges had been filed against Contreras, who was determined to have been unlawfully inside the home at the time.
Investigators said that Contreras turned himself in on Wednesday, and he faces charges of burglary, petit theft, and second-degree murder in Lopez’s death.
Both of the deputies involved in the shooting were placed on temporary paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which will turn over its findings to the State Attorney’s Office for review before the sheriff’s office then conducts its own internal investigation, the sheriff’s office explained.
No additional information has been provided.