Leonel LopezNASHVILLE, Tenn. – A man was convicted of second degree murder Tuesday in the fatal beating of his girlfriend at the bar where she worked.
A Davidson County jury found Leonel Lopez guilty in the attack on Anna Cruz at the Guadalajara Bar on Old Hickory Boulevard on May 3, 2011.
Police said Lopez had moved out that day, and he and his friends were playing pool at the bar.
Witnesses told police that 32-year-old Lopez became angry at Cruz's intention to close the bar early due to lack of customers.
Police said he punched her in the head, which knocked her down, and then continued to kick her.
She was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries following the attack, and died a few days later.
Police said Lopez fled the scene after the attack, but was later arrested at a home on Ocala Drive.
He will be sentenced on November 28.
