BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A former Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was previously arrested in connection with an inmate’s jail death has been re-arrested on a different charge, according to BCSO.
On Wednesday evening, Clemente Lopez was arrested on a warrant for engaging in organized criminal activity, the sheriff’s office said.
Lopez, 20, was charged with murder earlier this month after admitting to investigators that he opened the door to a jail cell on April 28, allowing the alleged assault of Francisco Bazan to take place, according to an arrest affidavit.
BCSO officials later found Bazan, 46, unresponsive in his cell, the sheriff’s office previously said. Medical staff was called, and life-saving measures were performed.
Bazan was ultimately pronounced dead.
Authorities said Bazan was found with apparent “blunt-force injury” to his torso. An autopsy revealed Bazan’s manner of death was homicide and that he had suffered from an extensive amount of internal bleeding, according to the warrant.
After being interviewed by investigators, BCSO said Lopez submitted his resignation to the sheriff’s office and was immediately taken into custody.
Court records show Lopez had been released on a $500,000 bond on May 3.
Lopez was taken to the Bexar County jail to be processed for the new charge on Wednesday, BCSO said.
Additional details on his re-arrest were not immediately available.
KSAT confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Lopez has since bonded out of jail for a second time.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told KSAT last week that he was “disgusted” after Lopez’s initial arrest.
“I wanted to look (Lopez) in the eye and tell him exactly how disgusted I was with the behavior, and I did so,” Salazar said. “He was apologetic, of course, but unfortunately, to me, that was very little consolation for what he put this agency through and this family that has been put through this horrible, unimaginable tragedy of losing a loved one."
Lopez, who began working for BCSO in August 2023, is the fifth deputy from the agency arrested so far this year.
So far, four Bexar County jail inmates have also been charged in connection with Bazan’s death, court records show.
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