Jury Finds Man Guilty of First-Degree Murder in 2014 Christmas Eve Killing of Waitress on 14th St. NW

            WASHINGTON –Marvin Lopez, 44, of El Salvador, was found guilty by a jury on November 14, 2023, of first-degree murder while armed for the 2014 Christmas Eve slaying of his ex-girlfriend, Evelyn Yamileth Arroyo Guerra, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            The slaying took place in front of the El Sabor Latino Restaurant on the 3900 block of 14^th St., NW, where Yamileth worked as a waitress.

            Lopez was also found guilty of a related gun offense. The verdict followed an eight-day trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

            The Honorable Michael O’Keefe scheduled sentencing for January 26, 2024. Lopez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the crimes.

            According to the government’s evidence, a pair of MPD Lieutenants were driving south on 14^th Street on Dec. 24, 2014, when they heard two gunshots. Citizens on the 3900 block of 14^th Street pointed in the direction the gunman had run. One of the Lieutenants gave chase on foot but lost the shooter in a wooded area at the end of Shepherd St, NW. The other Lieutenant found Yamileth on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant at 3910 14th Street NW, suffering from a gunshot wound to her chest and a graze wound to her head. Yamileth had been shot as she was arriving for work at El Sabor Latino, where she was a waitress.

            Two witnesses who knew Yamileth told police that they had seen Lopez—the victim’s recent ex—approaching her outside of the restaurant moments before the killing. One of the witnesses showed police Facebook messages between Lopez and Yamileth from days before the murder in which he threatened to kill her. Although an arrest warrant was obtained the next day, Christmas Day, Lopez was not located by police before he fled to El Salvador. He was extradited back to the United States and arrested in March of 2023.

            This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It was investigated and indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Natiello and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristian Hinson and Sarah Prins.