In the afternoon of March 16, 2020, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet of a residential street in Southeast Baltimore. When the sounds subsided, 28-year-old Sergio Jones, a male resident of South Bouldin Street, was found lying on the ground in the 400 block of South Lehigh Street, having been shot multiple times. He died at the scene from his injuries, which included a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
An autopsy would later determine that Jones had seven gunshot wounds and that his death was caused by internal bleeding. Witnesses described the shooter as a tall, light-skinned male with dark hair who fled in a white car with tinted windows after the attack.
The investigation into the murder of Sergio Jones quickly led Baltimore police to two suspects. The day after the shooting, authorities arrested 19-year-old Jerry Cruz. His alleged accomplice, 19-year-old Ulises Lopez, was taken into custody on March 30. Both men were initially charged with first and second-degree murder. Surveillance footage from a nearby home, which captured the entire incident, played a crucial role in the case against them.
As the case proceeded through the legal system, the roles of the two suspects became clearer. Jerry Cruz admitted to being the getaway driver and identified Ulises Lopez as the shooter in a statement to homicide detectives. In a deal with prosecutors, Cruz pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of being an accessory to first-degree murder in exchange for his testimony against Lopez. Having already served 19 months, Cruz was ultimately sentenced to five years of supervised probation. Following a jury trial, Ulises Lopez was convicted of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, and other firearm-related charges for his role in the death of Sergio Jones.
