Ala. Deputies Chase, Use Stun Gun on Suspect

April 16, 2013
A man charged with murder led Morgan County deputies on a chase early Saturday that ended with them zapping him with stun guns at least three times and shooting out his tires.

A Lacey's Spring man charged in the murder of a Huntsville man led Morgan County deputies on a chase early Saturday that ended with them zapping him with stun guns at least three times and shooting out his tires, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department said.

Chief Deputy Mike Corley said the deputy who tried to pull over Ernesto Yslas Lopez at about 3 a.m. intended only to give him "a courtesy warning about a headlight being out."

Lopez, 33, led that deputy and another on a "twisting and turning" chase until Lopez ran off the road, crashed through a pasture fence and got his red Nissan Xterra stuck in mud.

"He did quite a bit of damage in two different yards where he drove through them," Corley said.

Corley said deputies Brian Smith and Frank Anderson approached the vehicle, which Lopez was trying to free from the mud, and ordered him to get out.

One of the deputies was near the front of the vehicle when Lopez rolled backward, then "jerked it in drive and came forward, which put the deputy in harm's way," Corley said.

"The officers fired some shots and deflated both front and rear tires on the vehicle," he said. "That pretty much put a stop to any motion in the vehicle."

Lopez locked the doors, so one of the deputies knocked the window out with a baton. The deputy zapped Lopez with a Taser, but Lopez removed the prongs from his body and slid into the passenger's seat, Corley said.

He refused commands from the officer on that side of the vehicle and was zapped again, but to no effect, Corley said. The first officer came up from the behind and used his taser to stun him again, finally subduing him.

Corley said no one suffered injuries that required medical treatment.

Based on the officers' reports and video of the incident from their patrol cars, Corley said the deputies "handled themselves well."

A supervisor and detective were dispatched to the scene to investigate.

"(Lopez) was definitely breaking the speed limits and there's no question that he was attempting to elude," Corley said. "He was approaching U.S. 231, where there are some other concerns because of the amount of traffic. He gave no regard at any point to any stop sign or anything of that manner, or for anyone else's safety."

The Sheriff's Department assisted Huntsville police in Lopez's arrest Feb. 15 at his 176 Coffee Bluff Road home.

Huntsville's Major Crimes Unit charged Lopez, 32, with murder in the Jan. 23 beating death of Roderick Oliver on Jeri Street in Huntsville.

Police said Oliver was struck in the head with a shovel during a fight. An ambulance took him to Huntsville Hospital, where he later died.

Lopez was later released from Madison County Jail on $15,000 bail.

Corley said the Madison County District Attorney's office was seeking revocation of Lopez's bail and had placed a hold on his release from Morgan County Jail.

Lopez's bail on the new charges, which include public intoxication, attempting to elude law enforcement, illegal possession of prohibited liquor, resisting arrest, driving while revoked, failure to stop, failure to signal, no insurance, improper lane usage, improper lights, reckless driving and speeding, totaled $3,600.

Copyright 2013 - The Decatur Daily, Ala.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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