Inset: Julie Marie Lopez (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The San Antonio, Texas, apartment complex where Isaiah Guevara was killed during a robbery that turned deadly (Google Maps).
A Texas woman is headed to prison for her part in a home invasion that ended with a young man dead, though the punishment comes after a plea that spared her from the more serious charge she initially faced.
Julie Marie Lopez, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery in connection with the death of 20-year-old Isaiah Guevara, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
The case stems from an incident in late October 2024 at the Villas of Oak Creste apartments on Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio.
According to an affidavit obtained by San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT, police were called to the complex around 4 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024, after a 911 caller reported hearing gunfire and finding bullet holes through the apartment walls. Officers determined the caller was not injured and that the shots had come from a neighboring unit.
When officers entered that apartment, they found Guevara dead from multiple gunshot wounds, with shell casings scattered around his body. Investigators also noted a QuikTrip gas station cup sitting on a bedroom dresser, filled with red liquid and still cold enough to be covered in condensation.
The investigation continued for several months as authorities worked to piece together what happened inside the apartment.
Lopez was arrested in January 2025 and charged with murder and aggravated robbery in connection with Guevara’s death.
A witness at the scene said they saw two men running out of the victim’s unit — and heard a woman yelling at the men from the parking lot, according to the affidavit. Another witness said they saw two men running downstairs. A doorbell camera caught three suspects fleeing.
Surveillance video from a QuikTrip near the apartment complex showed Lopez and Guevara inside together, police said. In the footage, Lopez was seen drinking a red-colored beverage from a QuikTrip cup that matched description of the cup found in the victim’s bedroom.
Investigators also discovered Instagram messages between Lopez and Guevara sent on the night of the killing — including plans to meet. In one such message, the woman sent the man her address so he could send a rideshare driver for her, but Lopez later said she found a ride.
At 3:42 a.m., Lopez sent a voice message to a person who became a witness in the investigation, indicating that a group of people was “hiding,” according to the affidavit.
Later, an anonymous tipster told police they heard the defendant talking with a relative about the shooting after a Crime Stoppers bulletin was posted featuring still images of the surveillance footage from the QuikTrip. During this conversation, Lopez admitted to being at Guevara’s apartment and that the whole ordeal was a setup, according to law enforcement.
During her first interview with police, Lopez admitted to being at the slain man’s apartment that night. Still, she refused to identify the people she had been with and referenced in the voice message.
When investigators said she was facing a murder charge if she did not reveal the names of the others, who would remain free while she was punished, Lopez said: “It’s my choice,” and “It’s my mistake.”
Days later, yet another witness came forward to say that Lopez had been part of the setup for Guevara to be robbed and that one of the woman’s friends killed Guevara as the robbery went awry, police said.
In March 2026, a 24-year-old man was charged with Guevara’s murder as well. In June, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
“Them changing it from, truly, a murder charge to a robbery charge is upsetting,” the victim’s aunt told KSAT. “And that’s why we keep fighting. We’re going to keep coming for the hearings because it’s just not fair.”
Under the terms of the plea deal the state struck with Lopez, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The sentence was quickly meted out by 227th Criminal District Court Judge Christine Del Prado, who also credited the defendant with 499 days spent in pretrial detention.
