Pennsylvania State Police troopers take Joevhanny Anthony Lopez into custody after a pursuit that ended in a vehicle crash at South River and South Franklin streets, Wilkes-Barre, on May 21, 2024.
Robert Kadluboski
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WILKES-BARRE — A man who initiated a pursuit with Pennsylvania State Police troopers that ended in a crash in Wilkes-Barre pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court to endangering a child and a firearm offense.
Joevhanny Anthony Lopez, 29, of New Britain, Conn., and Hanover Village, Hanover Township, was accused of initiating a pursuit with troopers for speeding on the North Cross Valley Expressway on May 21, according to court records.
Troopers pursued Lopez into Wilkes-Barre where he crashed into an occupied vehicle at South River and Academy streets, and a parked vehicle on South River Street before he crashed into another parked vehicle at South River and South Franklin streets, court records say.
After Lopez was detained, court records say, he claimed a Glock 9mm he purchased on the streets of Connecticut was in a backpack inside the vehicle.
Two children, ages 4-years and 3-months, and a woman were inside Lopez’s vehicle during the pursuit, court records say.
Lopez pleaded guilty to firearms not to be carried without a license, endangering the welfare of children and accidents involving damage to attended vehicle before Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.
Lopez remains jailed and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 17.