By: Sean Crose
Last fall, former amorous footballer Juan Manuel Lopez was arrested in Puerto Rico after his ex-girlfriend, Andrea Ojeda, accused him of barbaric violence. After taking office in Caguas, Lopez was charged with multiple counts of abuse and assault. He was released from custody with a $175,000 bond. However, on Wednesday, Judge Ana Cruz Valez of Cuagas Magistrates Court dismissed the charges against Lopez because Ojeda did not appear in court to give testimony. An electronic shackle was removed from Lopez’s ankle while he was not under legal supervision. However, the prosecution still has the right “Resend the case.”
“I kept quiet for a long time,” Ojeda announced last fall, before adding that she had “left Juanma because he was an abuser.” According to Ojeda, at least some of Lopez’s problems stem from the bottle. “He had a problem with alcoholism,” she said of Lopez, who retired last winter. Lopez was previously in trouble for abuse when he was accused by Geraldine Crespo, although Crespo ultimately decided not to pursue the matter. If Lopez is tried and found guilty of the recent charges against him, the man could face more than two decades in prison.
Ojeda announced Tuesday that Puerto Rico’s justice system “retried” victims and tried to “turn their lives into a circus.” Based on ey Boricua: “This lawsuit is very amicable due to the popularity of the former boxer.”
A professional boxer, Lopez has enjoyed an illustrious, if ultimately uneventful, career in the ring, helping him win world titles in the weight and featherweight categories, respectively. Indeed, the man hadn’t lost a single fight until his 31st game, when he was stopped by Orlando Salido in 2011. Though he lost major fights, Lopez faced names like Mikey Garcia and Daniel Ponce De Leon. His final finish was 43-6 in a career that spanned nearly fifteen years.
