Tucson Most Wanted for Murder

A parolee, Bobby Francisco Lopez, is suspected of killing a clerk during a robbery less than four months after his release.

August 2, 2010

ARIZONA FUGITIVE NEWS -- The U.S. Marshals Service and Tucson Police Department are searching for an Arizona parolee, Bobby Francisco Lopez, for First Degree Murder. Lopez is most wanted for the killing of 54-year-old Mahesh Patel a convenience store clerk during an armed robbery.

Fugitive Bobby Lopez a.k.a. Lil "G"

On March 11, 2010, after serving approximately three years imprisonment for Armed Robbery, Bobby Lopez a.k.a. Lil "G" was released into community supervision from the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. By July 5, 2010, Lopez entered the Catalina Mart at 2601 N. Columbus Boulevard around 1:00 p.m., shot Mahesh Patel and fled the store with the cash register. Witnesses saw the killer get into a Chrysler 300 waiting outside the store, which was later found abandoned in the 2700 block of North Eastgate several blocks away.

Lopez's accomplice who drove the Chrysler 300 is yet to be identified. However, he is believed to be a Hispanic male approximately 70 inches tall weighing 230 to 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt and possibly dark pants.

During his imprisonment, Bobby Francisco Lopez committed two major disciplinary infractions and five minor infractions. His last infraction, disobeying a verbal or written order occurred on 02/03/2010, which was 42 days prior to parole. According to the Arizona Revised Criminal Code section 13-1904, Armed robbery is a class 2 felony, which is further defined in section 13-701, as a term of imprisonment for up to five years for a first offense. However, Lopez recidivism should have been expected based on data collected for the evaluation of inmate rehabilitation programs by Research Unit of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC). The 2005 three-year study of recidivism conducted by the ADC showed among 54,660 inmates paroled between the years of 1990 through 1999.

• 7.9% committed a new violent felony offense resulting in imprisonment.
• 3.4% committed a new violent felony offense within 12 months of release.
• 51.9% were suspected or validated as members of Prison or Street gangs.

Considering the ADC data results, increasing the length of imprisonment for violent offenders, who commit crimes such as armed robbery, would prevent violent offender recidivism by upwards of 25% simply through allowing for maturity through age. Statistically, 26.6% of released inmates returned to ADC custody within 12 months, while 42.5% of parolees under the age of 19 returned to ADC custody within three years. Therefore, it is reasonable to advocate legislative precedence to increase the length of imprisonment for violent offenders who commit crimes such as armed robbery.

Please keep in mind, for every 100 violent offenders released from Arizona prisons, approximately 8 return after being convicted for committing a new violent crime. Therefore, at least 8 victims are knowingly created when these parolees release. Furthermore, over the ten-year study more than 6918 violent offenders were released and captured after committing a new violent crime, not unlike the murder and robbery of Mahesh Patel. That is 691 preventable violent crimes per a year.

Meanwhile, Bobby Francisco Lopez and his unknown accomplice remain at large. Lopez has a tattoo of a skull on his upper right arm. He is further described as:

• Birth Date: October 26, 1984
• Height: 66 inches
• Weight: 160 pounds
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Black
• Sex: Male
• Race: Latino

These two suspects should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on the location of Bobby Francisco Lopez, a most wanted fugitive for murder, is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-926-8332.