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Monday, 2 March 2009

Amado Lopez allegedly pulled a .40-caliber handgun and pointed it at cops who were chasing him after responding to reports of a man with a gun

Amado Lopez allegedly pulled a .40-caliber handgun and pointed it at cops who were chasing him after responding to reports of a man with a gun at 5th and Somerset streets.Police shot first, striking Lopez in his right arm, causing him to drop his weapon. He kept running but was caught soon after, police said.After being treated for his injuries at Temple University Hospital, he was released into police custody and charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and resisting arrest.Three days later, a bail commissioner set Lopez's bond at 10 percent of $8,000, or $800, which he immediately posted.At the time, news of the low bail riled the police community, which was reeling from the Nov. 17 death of Sgt. Timothy Simpson, who had been killed in a car crash by an allegedly intoxicated career criminal.Lopez, of Roosevelt Boulevard near B Street, also was no stranger to the law. He was arrested in June 2007 for attempted murder and aggravated assault, but the charges were eventually withdrawn. He also had several prior arrests on drug charges, and an arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants, but the charges either were dropped or were pending.Police officials categorized Lopez's bail at the time as "mind-boggling" and "disgraceful." According to court documents, Lopez's bail was raised to 10 percent of $200,000 - or $20,000 - on Dec. 3, which he was also able to post immediately.Lopez was free on that increased bail on Thursday when he stopped in at the 300 West Bar, on Lehigh Avenue near 3rd Street, for a round of pool in the bar's back room, where he played three or four times a week, Wilkins said.About 9 p.m., two men with their hoodies pulled up tightly around their faces entered the bar and walked directly back to Lopez, Wilkins said. One of the men opened fire, striking Lopez 14 times. He was pronounced dead soon after at Temple University Hospital."If not for the bail, he'd still be in [jail] and he wouldn't be a number today," Wilkins said. *

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