LUBBOCK, Texas — Lee Lopez, 43, took a plea deal for Manslaughter on Tuesday for the 1998 death of Jessie Ordonez who was 26. He was sentenced to seven years in prison with more than three years of credit for time he already spent in jail.
On the morning of January 1, 1998, the Lubbock Police Department responded to a home in the 2400 block of 3rd Street for reports of an injured man lying in the front yard, according to a previous press release from LPD. Officers found Ordonez, who was pronounced dead less than an hour after he arrived at the hospital.

Police said Ordonez was at a New Year’s Eve party and was severely beaten during a fight with two other men. Investigators eventually identified two brothers, Lee and Gabriel Lopez, as the suspects.
LPD said a grand jury failed to indict the brothers on manslaughter charges in 2007. Police announced a break in the case in June of 2019 and issued arrest warrants for the Lopez brothers. Gabriel was arrested in Lubbock while Lee was arrested in Canyon County, Idaho.

Gabriel took a plea deal for manslaughter in September of 2022 and was sentenced to seven years in prison with credit for time already served.