A mother of six who received almost $5 million after police fatally shot her unarmed son, 16, has been arrested.
42-year-old Christina Lopez was arrested at her home in California after it was discovered that she has been using the $4.9 million she received to buy guns, which her 14-year-old son sold to gang members.
She is just one of the 14 people police detained after a 3-month-long investigation into a murder carried about by Calwa gang members.
Lopez faces felony charges of conspiracy to provide firearms to a minor, conspiracy to provide a firearm to a gang member, and child endangerment.
Prosecutors said that the mother used the cash she received from a settlement with Fresno police to purchase guns.
Fresno county district attorney Lisa Smittcamp said at a press conference: “As a mother and a prosecutor and a citizen of this county for my entire life, this is some of the most despicable behavior I’ve ever seen from a human being.”
The attorney also said that Lopez’s actions should make people ‘sick to their stomach.’
“The behavior of this woman is some of the most egregious criminality that I have ever seen. It is just horrendous to me that she could do this.”
Lopez was accused of encouraging gang activity “by providing the financial means” to purchase guns.
If found guilty of buying the guns for her son, Lopez faces 10 years behind bars.
Julia Sherwin, who represented the mother in the civil rights lawsuit after her son’s tragic death, said to The Washington Post that the charges were payback for the settlement.
“The crimes alleged against her are completely contrary to everything we know about her,” Sherwin expressed.
“These criminal charges reek of retaliation for Christina winning the largest settlement against Fresno in its history.”
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