An alleged vagrant convicted of two killings in 2022 was handed a life sentence for one of them in Dallas County court last week.
Nicholas Glenn Fields will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of killing Eduardo Hernandez Lopez, whose mummified body was found in a wooded area of Irving on March 9, 2022. Fields, 31, was allegedly homeless at the time and had been arrested at his camp not far from the location a few days earlier in connection with another murder.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, Fields was named the suspect in a fatal shooting at a park in the 3000 block of Floyd Street at about 1:47 p.m. on March 3, 2022. The victim, David Betts, had been sleeping on a bench when Fields shot him multiple times in the chest, witnesses to the murder testified at the time.
Although Fields fled the scene, he was spotted by a DART police officer and tracked to his camp, where he was arrested. He was found guilty of Betts’ murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison last year.
For Fields’ latest conviction on the murder of Lopez, the Dallas County judge sentenced him to life and also ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas saw a 15% year-over-year bump in homicides in 2023, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. The vast majority of the 246 murder victims were black and Hispanic males.
Bett’s murder occurred in Council Member Paul Ridley’s District 14, which, together with Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2, comprises Downtown Dallas. As extensively covered by The Dallas Express, the neighborhood has been marred by high rates of crime as well as homelessness and vagrancy.
Studies conducted each month by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association comparing Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers, show a persistent disparity. Downtown Dallas regularly logs significantly more criminal activity, especially assaults, drug crimes, and auto theft.
The Dallas Police Department has long grappled with an officer shortage, fielding approximately 3,000 officers despite a City report recommending a force of 4,000. Moreover, the Dallas City Council budgeted just $654 million for the department this year, opting to spend much less taxpayer money on law enforcement than other high-crime jurisdictions, like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
