By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The jury that convicted Daniel Lopez of murder has sentenced him to 65 years in prison for the crime.
Lopez, 51, was convicted Wednesday of shooting and killing Del Rioan Jose “Joey” Burgi on Oct. 2, 2023. Burgi’s body was found lying in the road at the intersection of Las Brisas Boulevard and Sundance Kid Trail just north of Del Rio in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2023.
Lopez quickly became the target of a sheriff’s office investigation after investigators learned that Lopez and Burgi had been seen together a few hours before Burgi’s death. Lopez was subsequently arrested and charged with Burgi’s murder.
A jury in Lopez’s murder trial was seated Jan. 20 and heard five days of testimony from witnesses called by District Attorney Suzanne West, who presented the state’s case, and Del Rio attorney Sostenes Mireles II, who represented Lopez.
The case went to the jury Wednesday morning, and jurors deliberated about two and a half hours before returning a guilty verdict. After the verdict was read, the punishment phase of the trial began.
West called Reginald Rangel as her first witness. Rangel, head of the Val Verde County Adult Probation Department, presented documentation of Lopez’s prior felony convictions, including a conviction for possession of methamphetamine. Mireles asked only a few questions on cross-examination.
West next called Raquel Burgi, Joey Burgi’s mother, who had previously testified during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. West asked how Joey’s death had affected her husband, Ronald Burgi.
“It has really broken him,” Raquel Burgi testified, adding that she and her husband will always say they have six sons, despite Joey’s death.
She was also asked how the loss affected her five remaining sons.
“There’s a gap. There’s something missing, and there will always be something missing,” she testified.
When asked if she felt safe in Del Rio, Raquel Burgi replied, “I don’t think any of us will ever be safe in this community as long as he (Lopez) is in it.”
Mireles did not cross-examine her.
West rested her case, and 83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena recognized Mireles, who called Lopez to the stand. Lopez had not testified during the guilt-innocence phase, exercising his constitutional right to remain silent.
Lopez testified that he lived with his father and met Burgi while both were in the county jail in 2019. He said he later ran into Burgi in a local store in the fall of 2023 and that they grew closer after Burgi sent him a friend request on Facebook.
Lopez testified that on the night of the murder he was driving his father’s pickup truck and picked Burgi up between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Burgi allegedly told him, “I have something I need to do,” and directed him to drive toward Lake Amistad.
According to Lopez, Burgi eventually directed him to a remote stretch of Las Brisas Boulevard, where both men exited the truck. Lopez claimed Burgi pulled a shotgun from the back of the truck, pointed it at him and demanded the keys.
“I told him, ‘B, don’t play like that,’ and he said, ‘I’m not f—ing playing; give me the keys,’” Lopez testified.
Lopez said the two grappled for the shotgun and that he was able to gain control of it. He testified that Burgi continued advancing toward him, even after he fired a warning shot, and that he continued firing because Burgi “would not go down.”
Lopez testified that afterward, fearing no one would believe him due to his criminal history, he panicked and threw Burgi’s phone and the shotgun off the Lake Amistad bridge. He said he did not call police because he was afraid.
“I just pretended like it was a bad dream, a nightmare,” Lopez testified.
Lopez, who has three children and previously worked as a nurse, told the jury, “I’m sorry for what happened that night. I should have stayed at the hotel. I had no intention of hurting Burgi that night.”
West questioned Lopez about his criminal history and his alleged anger toward Burgi over stolen items. Mireles later called Daisy Flores, who testified she did not believe Lopez capable of violence.
Mireles also recalled Shaun Davis, the sheriff’s office lead investigator, and questioned him about Rene Garcia, a mutual friend of Lopez and Burgi. Francisco Lopez Sr., the defendant’s father, testified that he was aware of his son’s drug problems but did not believe he was capable of murder.
“He’s a gentle giant, a kind person,” Francisco Lopez said.
Mireles’ final witness was Ayda Lopez, the defendant’s sister-in-law, who described Lopez as caring and said he had moved to Del Rio to help care for his aging father.
After testimony concluded, jurors returned Thursday morning to hear closing arguments. West reminded jurors Lopez was a repeat felon and that the minimum sentence was 15 years. Mireles urged jurors to consider mitigating evidence and argued that Lopez acted in self-defense.
The jury deliberated slightly more than an hour before returning with a sentence of 65 years in prison.
Cadena accepted the verdict and asked Lopez if he wished to speak. Lopez apologized to the Burgi family and his own family.
“I’m sorry I lied about it. I wish it had never happened. I regret it every day, and I have nightmares about that night,” he said.
Victim impact statements followed. Raquel Burgi thanked the court, law enforcement and jurors before addressing Lopez directly.
“You have destroyed my other boys, and they will never be whole again,” she said.
Ronald Burgi also spoke, describing his son’s death as devastating and calling it a violation of the community’s social contract.
“This murder violated that social contract. Daniel Lopez is a danger to this community,” he said.
After the statements, Cadena ordered Lopez remanded to the custody of the sheriff’s office. Bailiffs handcuffed Lopez and escorted him from the courtroom.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
