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LOPEZ-LOPEZ FOUND INNOCENT

Ashleyann Lopez-Lopez after being found innocent this afternoon.

MAYVILLE — Ashleyanne Lopez-Lopez, 26, has been found innocent by a jury in Chautauqua County Court in the stabbing death of Jefrena Brown, a 15-year-old high school student in Dunkirk.

The verdict came around 1 p.m. today.

During summations Thursday, defense attorney Schmidt stated that there was “more than one story.”

“Nobody forgets that there’s a tragic loss here,” Schmidt stated to the jury. “This case is going to affect everyone’s lives, whether she (Lopez) acted justifiably and was just an interloper that got involved.”

Schmidt then went through the prosecution’s evidence piece-by-piece, attempting to discredit certain witnesses and pointing out that Lopez had the knife at her side up until the flailing blows.

He cited that Lopez had been pushed to this, asking the jury “what decisions do we make when confronted by the bully in the school yard?”

District Attorney Patrick Swanson had a different take on the events.

“She knew exactly what she was doing,” Swanson began, citing the fact that in his case and from reports submitted, she pulled the knife from her bra, it wasn’t found on the ground. “She wasn’t ready to leave the fight, she wants to make a point, she’s in charge and she’s ready and willing to prove it.”

He then added that she knew a knife could kill and pulled it anyway on Brown, who was unarmed.

“She saw friends, she stood with them on the street and watched the fight,” Swanson continued. “If she was that concerned, she would have taken out her phone and called the police and went home. None of what she did was consistent with wanting to go home.”

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