GILROY
– A woman who pulled a locked and loaded shotgun from her car
and tried to aim it at nearby firefighters and police officers
following a traffic accident Saturday morning at Monterey Street
and Welburn Avenue is now in county jail.
GILROY – A woman who pulled a locked and loaded shotgun from her car and tried to aim it at nearby firefighters and police officers following a traffic accident Saturday morning at Monterey Street and Welburn Avenue is now in county jail.
Judy Marie Lopez, 25, of the 800 block of Willard Court, was arrested shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday for assault with a deadly weapon.
Gilroy firefighters were trying to administer first aid to Lopez following a three-car collision at the busy intersection Saturday morning when she became uncooperative and reached for a shotgun wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console of her 2001 Honda Accord.
Two nearby police officers were able to pry the gun from Lopez, pull her from her car and handcuff her before she could fire the weapon.
Lopez is now at the Main Jail in San Jose on a $100,000 bail.
“One of the firefighters who was trying to treat her saw her put her hand on the gun and yelled ‘She’s got a gun,'” said Gilroy Police Department spokesperson Debbie Moore. “Luckily the officers were close by, and they were able to subdue her quickly.”
Moore said results from a urine sample taken to determine if Lopez was under the influence of any drugs have not been received, and that additional charges for being under the influence could be added against Lopez.
Lopez was also written a ticket for running a red light and instigating the three-car accident that caused minor injuries to Lopez and both of the other drivers involved.
Following her arrest Lopez was taken by air ambulance to a San Jose hospital to be treated for her minor injuries. She was released later Saturday and transported to county jail.
“She had her hand on the shotgun and the chamber was loaded,” Moore said. “It was not a good situation.”
