A Willmar man is serving overlapping prison sentences for his fifth and sixth drunken driving convictions.
Lionel Lopez, 39, was sentenced March 16 for driving while impaired — refusal to submit to a chemical test; breath or test refusal or failure.
Lopez pleaded guilty to the felony charge as part of a plea agreement that called for the dismissal of an additional felony DWI charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Charges of driving after cancellation, a gross misdemeanor, and petty misdemeanor speeding were also dismissed.
At sentencing, Judge Michael Thompson ordered a 75-month prison term. He gave Lopez 307 days credit through March 15.
The sentence of just over six years was ordered to be served concurrently with a 51-month sentence he is already serving. As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed not to pursue a consecutive sentence.
The sentence in the prior case for another felony DWI conviction was handed down in June 2022 — approximately one month after his arrest in the most recent case.
Conditional release after confinement was set at five years.
According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Lopez has been incarcerated since June 8, 2022, on the prior conviction. He is currently in custody at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes, and his expected release date is July 13, 2026.
According to the criminal complaint in the current case, Lopez was stopped by a Willmar police officer around 2:14 a.m. May 12, 2022, for speeding. Lopez identified himself to the officer with a Minnesota ID card.
He admitted to the officer that he did not have a driver’s license, according to the complaint.
The officer ran a driver’s license and warrant check on Lopez and found that Lopez’s license was canceled and there was also a current arrest warrant for him.
The officer placed Lopez under arrest. As he was helping Lopez in the back seat of his squad car, he could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from Lopez’s breath, according to the complaint.
The officer obtained a preliminary breath test unit and asked Lopez for a breath sample, but Lopez refused.
Another officer arrived at the scene and waited for the vehicle Lopez was driving to be towed.
Lopez refused any further testing at the jail and requested to use a phone to contact an attorney.
According to the complaint, Lopez instead called his ex-wife or girlfriend and explained where he was before ending the phone call. Lopez then told the officer he was not contacting an attorney and that he would speak to a judge later that day.
The officer again asked Lopez if he would provide a breath sample, to which Lopez said he would not. When asked why he was refusing to do a breath test, Lopez said he did not feel he should because he was only stopped for speeding and a warrant.
Prior to the current conviction in March of this year, Lopez’s public criminal history shows five previous DWI convictions, all within Kandiyohi County, from 2007 to 2022.