Darrin Lopez found guilty in 2020 love triangle murder, sentenced to 62 years
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Darrin Lopez has been convicted and sentenced to 62 years in a state penitentiary, including time already served, for the 2020 shooting death of James "Jamie" Faith.
The 49-year-old American Airlines employee was shot and killed on the morning of Oct. 9, 2020, while he and his wife, Jennifer Faith, walked their dog in north Oak Cliff.
His wife told detectives that a stranger in a black pickup truck pulled up and opened fire. She also claimed that the gunman tried to abduct her.
"According to the witness…he had duct tape, he grabbed her, tried to tape her wrists...tried to pull jewelry off her fingers," said Dallas Police Deputy Chief Avery Moore shortly after the killing.
Detectives later became suspicious when they discovered Jennifer Faith was having an emotional affair with Lopez, her high school sweetheart.
According to prosecutors, Jennifer Faith told him lies about being abused by her husband. Detectives said Lopez then drove from Tennessee to Texas to kill him.
He was arrested and charged with the murder months later, in January 2021, by the ATF Special Response Team in Tennessee.
During the Dallas Police Department's investigation, they found he and Jennifer Faith exchanged more than 14,000 calls and texts between Sept. 30 and Oct. 30, 2020. One message even described a five-year plan on "how they would be together."
She pleaded guilty to a federal charge in the case last year and received a life sentence.
Watch the "48 Hours" report on the case here.