SAN ANTONIO – When KSAT first met Eduardo Lopez in December 2020, he had recently been released from jail after being charged with two felonies for a hit-and-run crash.
A man driving a black truck had slammed into another vehicle at the intersection of Fredericksburg and De Chantle Roads, before running away from the wreckage.
Within days, San Antonio police investigators had zeroed in on Lopez as the suspect and issued warrants for his arrest for failure to stop and render aid.
Security video from Dec. 8, 2020, shows a stunned Lopez being told by officers outside his home that he had to go with them to be booked into the Bexar County Jail.
“That’s not me. I don’t crash and run,” Lopez tells officers before being taken into custody in front of his family.
Lopez told KSAT he was forced to drain his savings account to post bond on the two felony charges.
But just as quickly as the criminal case against Lopez came together, it fell apart.
Lopez did not own a black truck and was nowhere near the crash scene.
SAPD had charged the wrong man.
Shortly before Christmas, SAPD Chief William McManus visited Lopez at home and gave him a check for $700 as well as a personal letter of apology.
“The San Antonio Police Department strives to hold those responsible for committing crimes accountable. In this instance, that did not happen,” wrote McManus in the Dec. 21, 2020, letter.
Lopez told KSAT the actual suspect has a similar name, but that the man’s family told SAPD investigators the man fled to Mexico shortly after the crash.
SAPD officials confirmed to KSAT the suspect has not been charged.
Lopez’s problems compounded since his wrongful arrest
Lopez’s false arrest set off a series of events that have compounded in recent years.
A Dallas-area law firm filed suit against Lopez on behalf of an auto insurance company in a Bexar County Justice of the Peace court in November 2022.
The suit was filed despite Lopez repeatedly telling the attorney for the plaintiff that he had been wrongfully charged for the crash and quickly exonerated by SAPD, according to Lopez.
“How can you go and present papers knowing that person is innocent? Do a little bit of homework, research, and find out it wasn’t really me,” Lopez said.
A second law firm, representing one of the people injured in the crash, had contacted Lopez weeks after the wreck, documents obtained by KSAT show.
That firm, however, rescinded its notice of possible claim after Lopez informed them he was not involved in the crash.
After Lopez failed to file an answer to the suit, a default judgment was awarded to the plaintiff in April of last year, court records show.
The judgment was for $10,116.50, plus court costs and interest.
In a letter sent to Lopez weeks after the judgment was issued, attorney Cass Keramidas wrote, “This matter will not go away by ignoring it.”
Keramidas then provided a list of steps he would take if Lopez did not begin to pay the judgment immediately.
Keramidas wrote that his firm would move to suspend Lopez’s driver’s license, record the judgment so Lopez cannot take out a loan and attach the judgment as a lien on any sale of property, records show.
Law enforcement officials confirm Lopez’s driver’s license was suspended in January.
The suspension lasts up to 10 years or until the judgment is satisfied, an official told KSAT on the condition of anonymity.
Keramidas did not respond to multiple emails and calls from KSAT seeking comment for this story.
But Aug. 29, just days after KSAT Investigates contacted Keramidas for this story, he filed paperwork releasing Lopez from the court judgment and the driver’s license suspension, court filings show.
SAPD goes from arresting agency to advocate for Lopez
This summer, after Lopez applied for a temporary security clearance to watch his son graduate from Air Force basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, he was denied.
“I found out that it was because my record of the two felonies that I did not commit is still on my record,” Lopez said.
He then reached out to SAPD officials asking if they could intervene.
“I told them, ‘I don’t know what’s going on still, but if I have to, I’ll jump the gate to see my son graduate,’” Lopez said.
SAPD’s Assistant Chief of Staff, Capt. Michelle Ramos, was able to secure Lopez a two-day pass to get on base and he was able to celebrate the momentous occasion with his son.
“And I saw him graduate -- without jumping the gate,” Lopez said.
McManus provided a second letter to Lopez on official SAPD letterhead in late June stating again that Lopez had been wrongfully arrested.
“The San Antonio Police Department hopes this letter, along with other actions taken to clear Mr. Lopez’s name, will help him obtain future employment,” the letter states.
Lopez told KSAT he has had difficulty gaining employment because the felony arrest remains on his record.
He said he has begun the process to get the charges formally expunged.
Ramos made contact with Keramidas’ law firm in early July, explaining that Lopez was not responsible for the crash and had been “vindicated of these charges,” records show.
Keramidas responded via email the same day, “I do not believe the debtor is your client. I suggest that you tell the debtor to either pay the judgment or go hire an attorney.”
The email was sent more than eight weeks before Keramidas filed paperwork to release Lopez from the court judgment and license suspension.
Lopez can petition for bill of review
After KSAT Investigates reached out to the court that issued the civil judgment against Lopez, Bexar County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3, the lead court clerk responded that Lopez can file a petition for bill of review.
The petition allows someone to challenge a final court judgment if there were factors that prevented a fair judgment in the original case.
Lopez has up to four years from the time of the judgment, April 2023, to file the petition.
It appears that will no longer be necessary, since Lopez was released from the judgment late last month.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.