George Lopez and Edwin Romero were sentenced to death by the State of Pennsylvania for the murder of David Bolasky
According to court documents George Lopez and Edwin Romero would rob landlord David Bolasky as he came to a building to collect rent. David Balasky would be fatally strangled
George Lopez and Edwin Romero would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
George Lopez Photos
George Lopez Now
Parole Number: 401AQ
Age: 64
Date of Birth: 03/26/1959
Race/Ethnicity: WHITE
Height: 6′ 00″
Gender: MALE
Citizenship: USA
Complexion: LIGHT
Current Location: PHOENIX
Permanent Location: PHOENIX
Committing County: LEHIGH
Edwin Romero Photos
Edwin Romero Now
Parole Number: 391AI
Age: 59
Date of Birth: 04/13/1964
Race/Ethnicity: WHITE
Height: 5′ 05″
Gender: MALE
Citizenship: USA
Complexion: LIGHT
Current Location: PHOENIX
Permanent Location: PHOENIX
Committing County: LEHIGH
George Lopez Case
A Lehigh County jury last night convicted two men of first-degree murder for killing and robbing Allentown architect and landlord David Bolasky.
The 10 men and two women will decide whether to sentence Edwin Rios Romero and George Ivan Lopez to life in prison or death by lethal injection
Jurors deliberated about five hours before finding the two men guilty of murder, robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
A dozen deputy sheriffs guarded the courtroom as the verdict was read at 8:55 p.m. before more than 20 family members, friends and co-workers of Bolasky at Wallace & Watson Associates and an expressionless Romero and Lopez. Bolasky’s relatives nodded in agreement.
Jurors will return to court at 9 a.m. today to hear mitigating evidence that defense lawyers will present to spare the men’s lives and aggravating factors that prosecutors will say warrant the death penalty.
Judge Thomas A. Wallitsch did not sequester jurors last night but cautioned them not to read or listen to news reports.
Bolasky’s wife, Brenda, and other family members hugged Assistant District Attorney Gavin Holihan and Allentown Detective Sgt. Joseph Hanna.
Romero, 30, and Lopez, 36, conspired with two other men to rob and kill Bolasky on Jan. 3, 1995, when he went to an Allentown apartment building at 625 N. 6th St. to collect rent.
Lopez’s nephew, Miguel Moreno, 24, lived in the third-floor apartment where Bolasky was killed. Moreno, who was the first charged with homicide, led police to Lopez, Romero and George Ortiz Barbosa.
Barbosa, 24, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a life sentence. Prosecutors withdrew the death penalty in exchange for his plea.
Bolasky, 41, was hit on the head, strangled with a towel and hogtied. His body was wrapped in bedding, carried down the steps to his van and discarded in a wooded area off N. Bradford Street in Allentown
The case against Moreno, who was a prosecution witness, is pending. Prosecutors aren’t seeking the death penalty for him.
Barbosa testified against Lopez but refused to testify against Romero, who is his cousin’s boyfriend.
In the sentencing hearing today, Holihan intends to tell the jury about Romero’s conviction for homicide in Puerto Rico. Before Bolasky’s slaying, Romero and Barbosa were in prison there and escaped during jail construction. They met Lopez in Florida and drove north.
Defense lawyer Glenn Clark will put Romero on the witness stand but no family members because Romero’s wife and two children live in Puerto Rico
Lawyer James Heidecker will call Lopez’s mother and brother as witnesses.
The defense questioned the credibility of Moreno, Barbosa and another inmate in the county jail, who said he talked with the defendants about the crime. No fingerprints or samples of blood, hair or skin connected Romero and Lopez to the slaying, the defense said.
Moreno said he took Bolasky up to the apartment, where the other three men were waiting, and went downstairs.
Barbosa earlier told police that Bolasky was struck on the head, and Romero and Lopez held the struggling man while Barbosa twisted a towel around his neck. Bolasky fought but stopped after 10 to 20 minutes, and Romero and Lopez took turns twisting the towel, Barbosa told police.
Moreno and Barbosa initially lied about their involvement and that of the others. The defense accused the prosecution of making deals with the devil and his minions to build a case.
“Don’t sell my client’s soul to the devil,” Heidecker implored the jury. “And don’t sell yours.”
Holihan argued that Moreno’s and Barbosa’s versions were supported by many small pieces of evidence and minor details about the crime, which only the conspirators could have known.
Holihan conceded that Moreno and Barbosa are despicable characters but asked jurors to separate the message from the messengers.
He said the strongest corroborating evidence was Barbosa’s plea to murder. If what Moreno told police wasn’t true, why would Barbosa plead guilty and lose a lifetime of freedom, Holihan asked.
Forsaking the death penalty against Moreno and Barbosa in exchange for their testimony was the price prosecutors had to pay to get all the men involved in the slaying, Holihan said.
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1996-03-20-3073174-story.html
