DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News ) – A Dallas County jury heard a second day of testimony on Wednesday in the murder trial involving a slain American Airlines executive James Faith.
49-year-old Darrin Lopez is accused of driving from his home in Tennessee to Dallas and shooting his ex-girlfriend’s husband seven times as the couple walked their dog outside their Oak Cliff home on October 9, 2020.
Lopez and Jennifer Faith dated in high school and college. Investigators believe the two were having an affair.
Court records show in April of 2020, Jennifer Faith encouraged Lopez to commit the murder by using fake email accounts to pose as her husband. She sent Lopez emails about “extreme physical and sexual abuse that never occurred.”
Jennifer Faith pleaded guilty of using interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire in February 2022.
About a month after Lopez’ arrest, Jennifer Faith was charged with obstruction of justice after police said she deleted text messages between herself and Lopez.
She was sentenced to life in prison last year.
On the second day of testimony, Dallas Police Department Detective Eric Barns told jurors cameras had been set up in Tennessee to surveil Lopez, once he had been identified as a person of interest.
“While we were working the investigation we believed it would be a good idea to try to keep tabs on him to just get a daily pattern of his life for him and to catch someone driving the vehicle. So, we decided to set up pole cameras to remotely watch his travel,” he said.
Det. Barnes testified the “T” sticker was removed from Lopez’ truck in an effort to evade detection. Authorities had asked the public to look out for it.
Jurors were also shown emails sent by Lopez’ wife to the Dallas Police Department that were written between her husband and Jennifer Faith.
The prosecutor read one of the emails during Barnes’ questioning.
“States 188 for instance is from Jennifer Faith to Darrin Lopez on 4/6/2020 and she’s saying ‘sorry, I love you…this has become a mess,’ she read. “Correct,” Barnes responded.
In addition to the murder charge, Lopez faces a federal charge of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony offense.
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