Eight months after Jose Luis Lopez was killed in his home by Orange County deputies responding to a burglary, the person who broke in will face trial for second-degree murder.
The trial against 25-year-old Cristian Duran-Contreras, who is accused of burglary after entering the Pine Castle home by climbing through a window, will begin Monday with jury selection, followed by arguments made by prosecutors and his public defender. The entire proceeding is expected to conclude by Wednesday.
Duran-Contreras was not present at a hearing Friday to discuss the upcoming trial, but it was suggested by court officials that he rejected a deal from prosecutors in exchange for a guilty plea.
Lopez, 26, was killed by deputies Feb. 8 after they spotted him through a kitchen window holding Duran-Contreras and pleading to them in Spanish for help. Deputies Alex Duran and Paul Ortiz claimed they saw Lopez, who they believed was their suspect, holding a knife to Duran-Contreras’ neck.
Cristian Duran-Contreras, 25, will be tried for second-degree murder in the death of Jose Luis Lopez, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. Lopez, 26, was killed by Orange County deputies responding to a reported burglary on Feb. 8. (Orange County Corrections Department)
“Open the f—ing door — hey, drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop the knife,” one deputy shouted in English. A second deputy came from around the corner of the house and raised his gun. Shortly after, both deputies opened fire. Ortiz’s bullet struck Lopez in the head, killing him.
The entire encounter lasted about 10 seconds. No knife was found at the scene, a detail omitted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office following the shooting until body-worn camera footage was released a month later.
Duran and Ortiz were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They have since been returned to full duty status.
Duran-Contreras, an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic who worked with Lopez as a roofer, was charged with murder as officials allege his actions created the situation that led deputies to open fire. According to investigators, he broke into the house after an argument earlier that night over not paying his share of the beer shared between him, Lopez and two others.
A selfie of Jose Luis Lopez, 26, with the flag of Mexico, his home country, in the background. Lopez was killed by Orange County deputies on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (Courtesy of Orlando Against Police Crimes)
After Lopez decided to go inside the home, Duran-Contreras refused a ride home, deciding instead to enter by propping up a ladder against the kitchen window. The two men scuffled, and at some point a neighbor called 911 for help.
Lopez’s death rallied together friends and family who remember him as a talented soccer player, often playing at Lake Ellenor Park and competing in amateur tournaments. Originally from Mexico, he worked in the U.S. in order to save up money to return home and start an avocado farm with his parents and sister.
He has since been buried in Mexico.
The shooting also sparked interest from local activists outraged that deputies opened fire on an innocent man who was protecting his home. In Pine Castle, the Orlando-area suburb where the shooting took place, is nearly 60% Hispanic or Latino, but neither Duran nor Ortiz were seen on video attempting to communicate in Spanish. Lopez, Duran-Contreras later told investigators, did not speak English.
Activists with Orlando Against Police Crimes, a group that advocates for accountability against law enforcement, called for Duran and Ortiz to be criminally charged, a demand that is unlikely to materialize.
