A woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges she helped her boyfriend rob and kill a man at a Lakewood park last year.
Bethany Ann Tesfaye and Ramone Lee Daniels, both 20, were charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the March 31, 2011, shooting death of Elias Lopez Lopez, 25.
Tesfaye pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder. She is to be sentenced today. Daniels is to go to trial next month.
According to prosecutors, Lopez Lopez met Tesfaye through another person and the two exchanged text messages. They decided to meet when he returned from a trip to Oregon. Tesfaye allegedly told Daniels, her boyfriend, that she planned to rob Lopez Lopez, and they concocted a plan.
According to charging papers:
Lopez Lopez picked Tesfaye up and drove to the parking lot of a mobile home park. They then walked to Wards Lake Park, where they sat and talked for a while. Tesfaye told investigators Daniels jumped out of the bushes and hit Lopez Lopez on the side of the head with a gun, fracturing his skull.
As Lopez Lopez ran away, Daniels fired two shots and struck Lopez Lopez in the back of the head. Daniels then rifled the victim’s pockets, stealing his wallet, keys, cellphone and cash.
Tesfaye was tied to the crime after detectives matched her booking photo to one she took of herself in a mirror and sent to Lopez Lopez’s cellphone. The victim had forwarded the photo to a relative, who turned it over to police after the slaying.
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com253-597-8653
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