Inset: Julie Marie Lopez (Bexar County Sheriff's Office). Background: The apartment complex where Isaiah Guevara was killed during a robbery gone wrong in San Antonio, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas woman will spend significant time behind bars for her role in a home invasion in which a young man was killed — but not as much time as she originally faced.
Julie Marie Lopez, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery in connection with the death of 20-year-old Isaiah Guevara, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.
The underlying incident occurred in late October 2024, at the Villas of Oak Creste apartments on Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio.
A 911 call came in around 4 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024, according to an affidavit obtained by San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT. The caller complained of gunshots and bullet holes through the apartment walls. Responding officers determined the caller was ultimately unharmed and that the gun had been fired from an adjacent unit.
Inside that other unit, police found the victim dead from multiple gunshot wounds with shell casings around his body. In his bedroom, there was also a cup from a QuikTrip gas station filled with red liquid on the dresser — still cold and dripping with condensation.
For months, the investigation continued.
In January 2025, Lopez was arrested and charged with murder and aggravated robbery over Guevara's death.
A witness at the scene said they saw two men running out of the victim's unit — and heard a woman yelling at the men from the parking lot, according to the affidavit. Another witness said they saw two men running downstairs. A doorbell camera caught three suspects fleeing.
Surveillance video from a QuikTrip near the apartment complex showed Lopez and Guevara inside together, police said. In the footage, Lopez was seen drinking a red-colored beverage from a QuikTrip cup that matched description of the cup found in the victim's bedroom.
Investigators also discovered Instagram messages between Lopez and Guevara sent on the night of the killing — including plans to meet. In one such message, the woman sent the man her address so he could send a rideshare driver for her, but Lopez later said she found a ride.
At 3:42 a.m., Lopez sent a voice message to a person who became a witness in the investigation, indicating that a group of people was "hiding," according to the affidavit.
Later, an anonymous tipster told police they heard the defendant talking with a relative about the shooting after a Crime Stoppers bulletin was posted featuring still images of the surveillance footage from the QuikTrip. During this conversation, Lopez admitted to being at Guevara's apartment and that the whole ordeal was a setup, according to law enforcement.
During her first interview with police, Lopez admitted to being at the slain man's apartment that night. Still, she refused to identify the people she had been with and referenced in the voice message.
When investigators said she was facing a murder charge if she did not reveal the names of the others, who would remain free while she was punished, Lopez said: "It's my choice," and "It's my mistake."
Days later, yet another witness came forward to say that Lopez had been part of the setup for Guevara to be robbed and that one of the woman's friends killed Guevara as the robbery went awry, police said.
In March 2026, a 24-year-old man was charged with Guevara's murder as well. In June, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
"Them changing it from, truly, a murder charge to a robbery charge is upsetting," the victim's aunt told KSAT. "And that's why we keep fighting. We're going to keep coming for the hearings because it's just not fair."
Under the terms of the plea deal the state struck with Lopez, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The sentence was quickly meted out by 227th Criminal District Court Judge Christine Del Prado, who also credited the defendant with 499 days spent in pretrial detention.