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Man’s conviction reversed for ATV rider’s killing in the desert

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[Main image] Authorities investigate the scene where Stephen Finson was found dead Feb. 24, 2014. [Inset] Arturo Lopez and victim Stephen Finson.
LOS ANGELES – A state appeals court panel Tuesday reversed a Lancaster man’s second-degree murder conviction for the shooting of an all-terrain vehicle enthusiast in the desert nearly five years ago.

The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ordered the case against Arturo Lopez to be sent back for retrial on the murder charge stemming from the 2014 slaying of Stephen Finson, 47, of Lancaster.

Finson was shot to death Feb. 23, 2014, while riding and taking pictures in the desert. He was found on the ground near his ATV in the 13300 block of East Avenue H, about eight hours after his wife reported him missing.

The appellate court justices found that the trial court had erroneously instructed jurors in Lopez’s trial on two theories of guilt — one which was legally correct and the other which was legally incorrect.

The panel also reversed Lopez’s conviction for offering false evidence, but upheld his conviction for one count of conspiracy to destroy evidence and three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Lopez was sentenced in August 2016 to 45 years to life in state prison for the killing.

Previous related stories:

Lancaster man gets 45 to life for ATV rider’s murder in the desert

Man convicted of murdering ATV rider in the desert

2 plead to accessory in murder of Lancaster ATC rider

Man ordered to trial for murder of ATC rider

Felon pleads not guilty to Stephen Finson’s murder

Man charged with murder of Stephen Finson

Suspect arrested for the murder of Stephen Finson

Memorial service to be held for Stephen Finson

Missing man found shot to death

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety, Lancaster

26 comments for "Man’s conviction reversed for ATV rider’s killing in the desert"

  2. Nice to know if I’m out riding my dirt bike some one can gun me down but as long as they are a potential democrat voter they get a reduced sentence

  3. California has become so liberal they are letting this pos out of prison as long as he agrees to vote demorat and help out smuggling as many illegals across the border as he can

  6. Anyone with any intellectual integrity that is not disingenuous knows exactly what this case is about: Vile Homie killed the guy and he tried to cover it up. Now we have a liberal group of judges doing what they do best…demonstrate that they are activist thug huggers finding loopholes. End of story…..and I know the empty headed Tim Scott will have to put his/her two cents in as he/she lives on this board opining on everything and like a little bird leaving his droppings everywhere.

    • My husband was killed by a DUI driver three years ago. He was found guilty if murder and sentenced to 10 to life. One year later the courts decided that was too harsh a sentence since it was his first “murder” so they paroled him at 1 1/2 years. I just want to scream how many do you have to kill to be kept in jail

    • Unfortunately this a is a true ‘rule of law’ in this case about the definitions that were spoken.
      Hopefully at the retrial no more mistakes are made, and the new jury put him back in.

    • You guys crack me up with all of your “Tim Scott this” or “Tim Scott that”.. maybe Tim Scott wouldn’t have to put his “two cents” in so much if you all weren’t popping off like a two dollar shot gun so much. its simple…. If you want to stop hearing from Tim Scott, then stops being such douche bags!

      *** this PSA was NOT endorsed by Tim Scott!! ***

  8. “The appellate court justices found that the trial court had erroneously instructed jurors…”

    This is on the trial court. There are not any excuses for these types of errors.

  9. They will ether try the case again or offer him a plea deal for a reduced sentence. For now he still has time to do on the other charges. I suspect he will die in prison or be very old by the time he gets out.

    • It’s pretty simple. It has to operate in accordance with the law, no mistakes allowed. Unfortunately, a mistake was made so the trial has to be redone. In the final outcome it is almost certainly not going to make any difference, but it is a crappy deal. Sorry.

    • my favorite things to stumble on are middle aged white people who post their existential crisis and unintentionally shed too much light on their own ignorance. sounds like you read this article, sincerely don’t understand a thing about what it says, and have so little contact with anything besides your television that getting anything out into the world, no matter how self-deprecating, makes you feel just justified enough to keep going one more day lol like you’re hella in disbelief over your own ignorance of basic concepts regarding the criminal justice system. “unbelievable! i forgot to pickup my kid from school again. unbelievable! i have no idea how picking up my kid from school even works. unbelievable! i have no idea how a tea kettle works. unbelievable! i have no idea how my debit card works. unbelievable! i have no idea how non stick spray works. unbelievable! i have no idea how baby is formed. unbelievable! i have no idea why i keep putting deli meat in my cd player. unbelievable! i have no idea why prosecuting attorneys can’t illegal bias a jury to win a case where they otherwise have no evidence and the guy on trial is their neighbor who refused to cut his hedges to improve the view from the prosecutor’s backyard even though the hedges clearly were nowhere near crossing the property line. unbelievable! i have no idea why me and everyone i know exists in an ignorant, self-righteous echo chamber of sitting on my rear for 18 hours a day watching fox news followed by 6 hours in bed sleeping with fox news on at full volume in the background so when i wake up i can feel justified in my plastic, racist, struggle-free-at-the-expense-of-the-rest-of-the-world life and i can keep pretending like my office job where i fill out paperwork without any readily obvious significance is hard work and i can therefore speak on everybody else to make myself feel better! unbelievable! i have no idea what struggle feels like even so i voted for donald trump cus i like a man who brags takes what he cant have when that thing is sexual relations with his daughter much like my own husband and, also like my husband (and everyone else i’ve ever met in my perfect little mayonaisse snowflakey world), is handed everything he’s ever had and has never worked a day in his life!”

      thats you christi or w.e your name may be called TODAY

  12. Steve came to my house about a month before he was killed and cut my tree. First time I saw him since the 80s. A month later he was gone. Did nothing to deserve this. Just taking a joy ride in the dessert. This POS that killed him should be dead.

  13. JUSTICE FOR STEVE!!!!! What the hell is THIS? He was my neighbor growing up. This POS should be doing life and never get out.

      • or you know, the rule of law. if there hadn’t been an error in the trial court, the dude’s conviction wouldn’t have been reversed. blame the prosecutor or judge for the screw-up.

    • Steve was a white guy and California court system only protects illegals, DACA, Gangbangers so dont expect any true results from this. The defense will claim the gangbanger felt threatened so shot him to protect himself. Sucks to be a white Californian these days

    • True justice for Steve will come when you people go to the polls and vote out all the liberals who now run California!