Washington Man Convicted of Murder in Newark Dad's Revenge Killing

A Newark jury took less than a full day to convict a Vancouver, Washington man of first-degree murder for gunning down 40-year-old Reynaldo Cantu outside his Sunset Avenue home in December 2022, in a killing prosecutors described as a calculated act of vengeance tied to the death of the defendant's teenage daughter. Louie Sixto Lopez, 56, now faces 50 years to life in prison after jurors found him guilty of murder with a firearm enhancement.

According to The Mercury News, prosecutors said Lopez brought a gun to settle the score after his 16-year-old daughter, Danielle Lopez, was killed in a collision involving multiple cars on Interstate 680 in San Jose in October 2022. Deputy District Attorney Ted McGarvey told jurors the evidence of premeditated murder was, in his words, unequivocal and overwhelming, and offered them two separate paths to reach that same conclusion. Surveillance video played at trial showed Lopez ordering Cantu out of a parked car at gunpoint and telling him to come with him, per the outlet's reporting.

A Struggle Caught on Camera

The confrontation itself lasted only a few seconds. Lopez fired two shots — the first wounded Cantu, who initially survived, and the second went through his head, killing him, according to the Mercury News account of testimony. Cantu's wife discovered her husband dead just seconds after the shooting, as Lopez was leaving the area; his car was found parked two blocks from the family's home.

Earlier reporting from KTVU FOX 2 detailed how the fatal encounter was captured on a Ring security camera mounted at the Sunset Avenue residence, giving investigators direct video evidence of the confrontation. Newark Police officers were dispatched to the scene at 2:22 p.m. on December 2, 2022, with Detective Sgt. Yama Homayoun handling information requests, according to SFGate. Lopez fled back toward San Jose, where officers arrested him the following day and booked him into Santa Rita Jail without bail.

Prosecutors Say Lopez Investigated the Crash Before the Shooting

The East Bay Times reported that Lopez spent days investigating the crash. Prosecutors also said Lopez had a kidnapping kit containing rope and zip ties in his car, evidence they used to rebut the defense's account that he had simply traveled from Washington seeking answers about his daughter's death.

Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods, who represented Lopez, argued jurors should have considered involuntary manslaughter rather than murder, saying his client did not intend to kill Cantu and did not even know who Cantu was when he approached the home. Woods said Lopez attributed the shooting to a struggle over the gun and that Lopez himself testified the shooting was accidental. Woods also pushed back on the kidnapping-kit evidence, saying police exaggerated the significance of the rope and zip ties found in the car.

A Father's Search for Answers

Lopez, a San Jose native, had returned to the Bay Area to bury his daughter and went back a second time, about two months after her death, still searching for information about what happened to her. The defense argued Lopez was reacting to unverified allegations involving Danielle's boyfriend and said he was seeking answers about what happened to her, per the East Bay Times' account of the proceedings.

After the verdict, Woods said he respected the jury's decision but was disappointed with the outcome. His office said it hopes Danielle Lopez's family will someday receive answers and justice, and that the case will bring greater attention to her death.

Daughter's Death on I-680 Still Unresolved

Danielle Lopez was killed on October 3, 2022, after being struck by multiple vehicles on Interstate 680 in San Jose, according to reports. Her family's grief and suspicion deepened in the weeks that followed.

Danielle's boyfriend told police the two were arguing before she exited the car, and Lopez's family blamed him for her death, but he was never charged in connection with it. He was separately sentenced to probation after battering a police officer in November 2022 and remained in jail while that case was pending. As the Mercury News notes, the circumstances of Danielle Lopez's death on I-680 remain an open question for her family.

Both families attended the roughly weeklong trial in a large group. Initial murder charges with a firearm enhancement were filed in December 2022 by then-Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley, according to CBS News. Lopez now faces 50 years to life in state prison, according to the reports.