A former co-worker of a slain Portland taxi driver spoke out about his friend’s murder Friday, accusing the convicted killer of “only making excuses” and even grinning at the victim’s family in court. floated.
Darrin Campbell previously worked with Reece Lawhon, who was stabbed to death while riding in a car in April 2023. The killer, Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, reportedly killed Lawhon after the two arrived at the wrong address during a ride.
Lopez, who identifies as transgender, took a plea deal in the stabbing and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Campbell said Lopez showed no remorse to Lawhon’s family and friends during the sentencing hearing.
Outdoor drug use and overdoses prompt Democrats to overhaul nation’s first decriminalization law
“He made excuses for a whole 12 minutes and never apologized, and we came out of the courtroom extremely angry,” Campbell told Carly Shimkus on “Fox & Friends First.” .
“There were only a few friends and colleagues in the courtroom and we were just stunned.”
“I’m one of the few people outside of the detective and prosecutor’s office who actually watched the video and witnessed the murder,” he continued.
“And it’s scary. That’s what I see every day when I wake up, and there was no need for that kind of violence, and this is what Moses stopped. I strongly believe that. ”I see his face every day. ”
Reece Lawhon was stabbed to death while driving a taxi on Easter Sunday 2023. (Darin Campbell, “Fox & Friends First” Screenshot)
Lopez was seen grinning in court as the sentence was handed down Wednesday.
“I’m not going to apologize for not getting help when I desperately needed it and called and asked for help from 911,” Lopez said.
Lawhon’s family told FOX 12 they decided to take the plea deal because they didn’t want to endure a trial.
Campbell argued that the defense’s depiction of Lopez’s 911 call was “highly misleading.” Lopez claimed that she was having a mental health episode that prompted her to call 911.
“That 911 call is frustrating because it sounds like he was calling for mental health treatment,” Campbell said.
Voter remorse: Blue State survey finds majority want to recriminalize drugs: ‘We made a big mistake’
Portland taxi driver Reece Lawhon was brutally murdered in April 2023. (Portland Police Bureau, KPTV)
”[The ride] It was about a 7 minute journey starting from a very popular club area downtown and ending in the Warehouse District. Not a word was spoken until they got down there,” Campbell said, adding that Lawhon was then told by Lopez that it was the wrong location.
“You can see Reese enter another address into his GPS and start driving. They start moving and out of nowhere, [Lopez] Just pull out a knife and stab it in the neck. ”
The New York Post reported that Lopez’s defense team blamed his turbulent upbringing and being uprooted from his home at an early age as excuses for the crime.
Carly Shimkus noted that Lawhon, who was adopted and remembered as a caring and talented musician, was scheduled to meet his birth parents before he was killed.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
