BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Julian Lopez, 21, of Alcalde has been granted a conditional discharge and placed on 18 months of supervised probation under the terms of a plea agreement in First Judicial District Court in connection with an April 2021 incident where he struck two cyclists on State Route 4 near mile marker 54 and fled the scene.

LAPD issued a request for assistance from the public in locating a white GM smaller style pickup truck with a single amber construction light affixed to the roof of the cab and damage to the hood. Photos and video of the vehicle leaving the area of the accident were captured by Los Alamos National Laboratory. LAPD officers contacted the company that owned the vehicle and obtained the identity of the driver.

Lopez was charged with leaving the scene of an accident – great bodily harm or death – to two persons for failing to stop or immediately return to the scene of an accident to give the required information and render assistance.  He was also charged with failure to give immediate notice of an accident and careless driving.

Under the plea agreement, the conditional discharge was granted without entering an adjudication of guilty on the leaving the scene of an accident charge and the other two charges were dismissed.

At the time of the incident, Lopez was in a pre-trial diversion program through the District Attorney’s Office on previous unrelated charges. His part in that program was deemed “terminated unsuccessful” in April 2021.