After nearly three years behind bars, Fenqwavious Lopez walked out of the TGK Correctional Center a free man early Tuesday morning.
The State Attorney’s Office initially charged Lopez with four attempted murder charges of a law enforcement officer and other gun-related charges for shooting at four Miami-Dade Police officers back in 2020.
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WATCH HEREOn Monday, a jury acquitted Lopez of all charges. Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez ordered Lopez to be released.
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In an exclusive interview with NBC6, Lopez thanked the jury for believing his testimony.
“Thank you very much. They seen the light, they saw the truth. They knew I wasn’t wrong. They put themselves in my shoes,” Lopez said.
The Miami-Dade police officers who Lopez shot at testified in court. Some officers spoke about how traumatic the day was for them. Luckily, no one was injured.
Lopez told NBC6 how it felt listening to the officers accusing him.
“How can you sit here and try and take someone’s life away? Knowing it didn’t go down that way," he said. "They could have told the truth. Yeah, I shot, I admit that, but they didn’t have any business pulling up that type of way. You feel me?”
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Lopez admitted he shot in self-defense since the officers were in plain clothing and approached with no warning. State attorneys argued the officers yelled several times and had their police lights on.
“I know if I was white walking down the street, they would have never stopped me. Because I was Black. They didn’t expect me to react that way,” Lopez said.
The 25-year-old said he has no regrets about that day.
“I really thought if I didn’t do that that way, I would have been killed," Lopez said.
Now, Lopez hopes to spend time with family, especially his mom and little niece. He hopes one day he can open a clothing business.
His attorneys said they fought hard because they knew his client was innocent. Attorney Matthew Rogoff hopes police officers learn a lesson from this case.
“It’s a two-way street. If you don’t street your community with respect. That every person in the neighborhood deserves you are going to put yourself in these vulnerable situations that officers don’t deserve or expect," Rogoff said.
“Maybe let’s take a step back. Do we need to jump out on people, or should we take a community approach?" said Jonathan E. Jordan, Lopez's other attorney.
