At approximately 11:52 a.m., long-time criminal Jose Lopez, aged 37, escaped from police custody while receiving treatment at the NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln facility in Mott Haven on Thursday morning. This abrupt disappearance occurred shortly after he appeared virtually before a Bronx judge, as stated by both law enforcement personnel and court records.
Prior to his escape, Lopez was arraigned from his hospital bed at around 11:30 a.m. on multiple charges following an incident on August 29 when he allegedly sped and crashed a motorcycle while fleeing from police officers in the Bronx, according to police reports and court records. At that time, police had attempted to pull him over but he chose to evade capture, leading law enforcement officials in a high-speed chase. Eventually, Lopez was apprehended at Gerard Avenue and East 150 Street, carrying drugs with him as stated by the New York Police Department (NYPD.
His charges include criminal possession of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment, obstruction of governmental administration, reckless driving, failure to yield to a pedestrian, operator leaving the scene causing property damage, and driving a vehicle on or across a sidewalk. Despite pleading not guilty to these charges that morning, Bronx judge Daniel Lewis set his cash bail at $1, as per court records.
Since 2008, Lopez has accumulated an extensive criminal history of 16 arrests, primarily for offenses such as robbery, burglary, and drug charges, according to police data.
Following the incident on Thursday morning, law enforcement personnel and K-9 units swarmed the area surrounding the hospital in their efforts to locate Lopez. However, authorities remain uncertain about how he managed to slip away from their grasp undetected. A photograph released by the NYPD shows Lopez, a resident of University Heights, dressed in blue hospital garb shortly before his daring escape on foot. He is described as being 5-foot-11 and weighing approximately 170 pounds.
Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Lopez is urged to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
