'Most wanted' nabbed at border

A man at the top of the East Palo Alto Police Department’s "Most Wanted” list was arrested early Friday morning at the Mexican border, police said this evening.

Arturo Lopez, 28, was taken into custody around 4 a.m. as he attempted to enter the United States through the San Ysidro border crossing, according to police.

He is wanted in connection with several crimes, including the attempted murder of an East Palo Alto police officer on Nov. 3, 2004.

Police say Lopez pulled a handgun from under his sweatshirt and fired three rounds at an officer during a traffic stop. The officer was not injured in the incident, and a $1 million warrant was later issued for Lopez’s arrest.

On the day of the shooting, police said the officer pulled over a red Ford Focus in the 2700 block of Illinois Street around 12:40 a.m. because he thought he recognized the driver as the suspect in another crime.

When the officer asked the driver for his license and registration, the man seemed compliant but then reached toward his waistband, pulled out a gun and opened fire, police said.

The officer retreated to his vehicle for cover as the Ford sped off.

Police said Friday Lopez was also wanted for the kidnapping for ransom and attempted murder of an East Palo Alto resident on Oct. 12, 2004.

On that day, East Palo Alto police reported that a 42-year-old man had been kidnapped after an 8:40 a.m. traffic accident on Ralmar Avenue.

Police said the victim’s vehicle and a gray van with three occupants had collided, and that witnesses at the crash scene reported seeing the victim pulled into the suspects’ van and stabbed.

The suspects released the victim later that morning after his wife left for pickup an undisclosed amount of ransom money in a Chevrolet Suburban that she parked in the lot of the Marsh Manor Shopping Center in Redwood City, police said.

The victim’s wife took him to a local hospital for treatment of stab wounds.

In addition to the kidnapping incident, Lopez was sought for being a parolee at large, and a no-bail federal warrant had been issued for his arrest for being unlawfully present in the United States after prior arrest and deportation, according to police.

Police say they partnered with the U.S. Marshals Service in late 2005 and provided the service with their "Most Wanted” list. Since then, they said, six of the city’s 10 most wanted suspects have been captured.

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