A Minneapolis police officer charged with threatening to hide in the bushes and shoot his former sister-in-law has waived his right to a jury trial.
James John Lopez will instead have his case decided by a Ramsey County District Court Judge.
Both the prosecution and defense are to submit their evidence to Ramsey County Judge Timothy Mulrooney by the end of this month.
Mulrooney is expected to issue his decision this fall.
Lopez, 56, was charged last October with one count of felony-level threats of violence for the alleged conduct, according to the criminal criminal filed against him. He also faces one count of fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.
Lopez, who lives in St. Paul, is a longtime Minneapolis police officer.
He was relieved of duty following the allegations, meaning he was still being paid but was no longer on active duty as of last fall, according to information provided by police.
The department also opened its own internal investigation.
Neither the outcome of that investigation nor Lopez’s current employment status with Minneapolis police were immediately available Tuesday.
Lopez’s sister-in-law was in town visiting Oct. 16, 2017 when Lopez, who had been drinking, began arguing with his wife inside their home on Sidney Street West, the woman told St. Paul police, according to the criminal complaint.
As his wife began packing up her things to leave the house, Lopez reportedly pointed his finger at his sister-in-law and threatened to shoot her, authorities say.
“I don’t care where you go, St. Paul or Seattle. I’ll be hiding in the bushes and I’ll shoot you,” Lopez threatened, charges say.
Investigators later spoke with Lopez’s wife as well as her father, about the incident, both of whom confirmed what happened, according to legal documents.
Lopez’s wife also said at the time that her husband had threatened to kill her in the past, once putting a gun to her head, charges say. She said she never reported it for fear of what Lopez might do.
In an application for an order for protection she secured from a judge last Oct. 19, Lopez’s wife wrote that her husband had also spit on her in the past, pushed her and sometimes tried to scare her by intentionally speeding while driving with her before slamming on the brakes
When she threatened to call the police, he told her he would “get out of it” and kill her, she wrote in her application.
Her order for protection was granted last October and subsequently dismissed this past January after Lopez’s wife secured a harassment restraining order in its place.
Lopez denies the allegations made by his wife but did not object to the restraining order, court records say.
The order is in effect until January of 2020.
Lopez petitioned to divorce his wife this past winter and a judge granted the request in May. The two married in 1986.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges facing him in the case this past March.
Lopez was convicted of a DWI in Scott County in 2016.
The president of the Minneapolis Police Federation did not respond to a request for comment.
Lopez was recognized for 25 years of service with Minneapolis along with other city employees this past June, according to the city’s web site.