Darrin Lopez
Testimony began today in the October 2020 murder case of James Faith, the Oak Cliff man who was gunned down on Waverly Street, steps away from the home he shared with his wife Jennifer Faith and adopted adult daughter Amber.
Last summer, Jennifer — who was a few steps away when her husband was killed and who was initially seen as a victim — was sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating her husband’s murder. The motive is believed to be the half million dollars she could have received from her husband’s life insurance policy.
This week, Darrin Lopez is on trial in Dallas for murder, accused of carrying out the murder. A police sergeant testified this morning that James Faith was shot seven times — three bullets in the head, three in the chest and one in the groin. Lopez’ attorney in opening statements said he plans to show that Lopez, a combat veteran with a head injury and post traumatic stress disorder, was tricked by the woman he loved into shooting the man she claimed was subjecting her to violent, constant and escalating abuse.
They plan to show that none of her abuse stories were true and that through hundreds of daily texts, emails and phone calls she convinced Lopez — a defendant whose perception of danger and how to respond to it has been uniquely shaped by his military combat experience — to get rid of the man he believed was torturing and planning to kill her.
Oak Cliff homeowner Emery Wilson took the stand today. While no neighbors witnessed the actual shooting, Wilson heard it — the gunshots and screaming — and was the only person bedsides Jennifer known to have seen the shooter.
Jennifer and James Faith
Wilson — who knew the Faiths casually, typically seeing the couple during regular morning dogs walks — testified that at about 7:30 a.m. October 9, 2020, he was sitting near a window, working remotely during pandemic lockdowns, when the cacophony of gunfire and wailing (horrifying sounds recorded on a Ring camera and later played for the jury) erupted.
Wilson jumped up and ran barefooted out his front door to help or at least find out what was happening, he said.
But he stopped cold when he saw, about 20 feet from where he stood, a man dressed in a dark navy hoodie and jeans, the bottom of his face covered by a blue surgical mask, gripping a gun at his side.
Wilson says their eyes met for a couple seconds. Then Wilson hurried back inside his house to grab and load his own gun.
Back outside, the man was gone. Wilson saw the Faith’s dog Maggie running in the road. About five addresses down, a body lay in the street. Another neighbor was on the line with 911. And Jennifer was still hysterical. Still in bare feet, Wilson went to Jennifer’s side to comfort, protect and try to determine what, exactly, had happened.
He recalled that she said, “no one came.” He said he interpreted that to mean that no one came to her aid. He told her, “I’m here now” and stayed with her until police arrived.
In following days, Jennifer asked Wilson and other neighbors to accompany her and her dog on their morning walks. Wilson says he agreed, even though he was scared. ‘It seemed like the neighborly thing to do,” he testified.
A couple weeks later Wilson stopped accompanying Jennifer on the walks due to a situation that made him feel uneasy.
One morning when he was walking with Jennifer, Amber and two other neighbors he mentioned that he had seen the gunman. Jennifer stopped walking, ostensibly surprised. Apparently she had not known about Wilson’s encounter with the shooter. She asked Wilson if the man seemed Black or Hispanic. Wilson replied that he could not tell, that he could only see the eyes. Jennifer did not press him to remember more. The conversation left the witness with “mixed feelings” about Jennifer, he testified.
The afternoon thus far has been spent discussing collected evidence with members of Dallas Police Department who worked the case.
We will continue to follow the Darrin Lopez trial and bring readers information as we learn more.
