FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – A murder charge is now filed against the man accused of killing a transgender person, Kenton ‘KC” Haggard.
On Monday, Fresno police announced they arrested Richard Joseph Lopez (above) of Fresno.
Lopez was already in custody in Fresno on an elder abuse charge and auto theft from a crime in 2017 in Auberry, last November.
After he was sentenced three years in that case, the Fresno County DA’s Office was just waiting to arrest him on the murder charge.
On Tuesday, February 6th, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint alleging that 38-year-old Lopez committed felony murder, as well as an additional allegation that a knife was used in the commission of the crime.
The victim – 66 year-old Kenton ‘KC” Haggard (above) was stabbed in the neck on Blackstone and Cornell on July 23, 2015.
If convicted of the charge and allegation, Lopez could face 26 years up to to life in prison.
He’s currently in custody at the Fresno County Jail, and scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, February 7th.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
