A Sierra Vista man who avoided prison time as part of a plea deal after admitting he attempted to lure a 14-year-old boy for sex in 2019 is back in jail for allegedly possessing sexually stimulating material in violation of his conditions of probation.
Teofilo Lopez Jr. was hit with a petition to revoke probation filed Nov. 10, the day after he was booked into the Cochise County jail by his probation officer, who alleges Lopez also violated probation by possessing a firearm, ammunition, and alcohol. He is being held on a no-bond order.
Lopez, 53, had his revocation arraignment from jail on Nov. 11 and is scheduled for a review hearing Nov. 22. By then he should have a court-appointed attorney.
Available court documents do not explain the circumstances under which Lopez was taken in custody. However, if the probation department is successful in its probation revocation effort then Lopez could be resentenced in the 2019 case, including a possible prison term of 3.75 years.
Lopez was arrested in February 2019 after using the Grinder app to have a sexually explicit conversation with whom he believed was a 14-year-old boy. He arrived at a meeting area to take the boy to a nearby hotel but was greeted instead by a Sierra Vista police officer as part of an operation targeting child predators in the community.
In January 2021, Judge Laura Cardinal imposed a sentence of four years of probation after Lopez pleaded guilty to a Class 4 felony of attempted luring of a minor for sexual exploitation. A plea deal negotiated by the Cochise County Attorney’s Office required the judge to impose probation in lieu of prison time.
The same plea deal also required Lopez to register as a sex offender. He was assessed a Level 1 offender (the highest being Level 3) following screening of 19 factors contributing to the risk of sex offender recidivism.
If Cardinal determines Lopez violated probation, then she can reinstate him to probation or formally revoke probation and impose a prison term. Lopez would
receive credit for any days in jail since his initial arrest in 2019 but he is not credited for time spent on probation since the 2021 sentencing hearing.
Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed Lopez’s sex offender level can be reassessed in light of the probation violation allegations and the outcome of any new criminal charges which may be filed.
It is unclear as of press time whether Lopez will face weapons charges stemming from his status as a felony probationer. Under Arizona Revised Statute 13-1302(A)(4), it is a Class 4 felony of misconduct involving weapons for knowingly possessing a deadly weapon or prohibited weapon if such person is a prohibited possessor.
