Man sentenced in brutal North Carolina stabbing — 16 years after fleeing to Mexico
A suspect who fled to Mexico 16 years ago after police accused him of stabbing a North Carolina man in the chest pleaded guilty on Wednesday and will be deported after serving up to four years in prison, prosecutors said Thursday.
Franciso Loyola Lopez pleaded guilty in Catawba County Superior Court to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, according to a Catawba County District Attorney’s Office news release.
The 36-year-old Lopez was living in Conover when he stabbed the victim, “causing substantial injuries that resulted in hospitalization at two medical facilities,” according to the news release.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents apprehended Lopez in Arizona in February when he tried to re-enter the country, prosecutors said.