Jury convicts Pawtucket man for 2023 murder
Published on Thursday, May 14, 2026
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Pawtucket man has been found guilty in Providence County Superior Court for the 2023 murder of 27-year-old Emmanuel Torres Plaza in Central Falls.
On May 13, 2026, following the conclusion of a six-day trial before Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause, a jury found Luis Lopez (age 39) guilty of one count of first-degree murder, one count of discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence resulting in death, one count of carrying a pistol without a license, one count of possession of a ghost gun, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
The defendant is currently being held without bail pending a sentencing hearing to be scheduled at a later date.
“When bystanders speak up, they assist law enforcement in the pursuit of justice,” said Attorney General Neronha. “This defendant would not have been arrested and apprehended with key evidence if two high school students had not called 911 when they saw something suspicious. Their decision to do the right thing allowed us to hold this defendant accountable for his senseless act of violence. I am grateful to the Central Falls Police Department for their collaboration on this case, as well as the assistance of our law enforcement partners in Massachusetts.”
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that on September 23, 2023, the defendant shot and killed Emmanuel Torres Plaza in Central Falls.
That night, the Central Falls Police Department responded to the scene of a shooting on Dexter Street. Investigators found Torres Plaza deceased at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators recovered seventeen spent 9mm shell casings from the scene.
Video surveillance from the area captured the shooter, dressed in black, pulling into a lot across the street from Torres Plaza’s business earlier that evening. At approximately 9:14pm, video shows Torres Plaza running across the street toward his car. As Torres Plaza approached his car, the shooter jumped up from behind the car with a pistol in each hand and fired seventeen shots at Torres Plaza. The shooter then fled the scene.
Later that night, just after 10pm, the Plainville Police Department in Massachusetts received multiple calls about a car that was engulfed in flames. One call from two high school students reported a man, later identified as the defendant, walking away from the burning car in the middle of the road with a gas can. A few minutes later, officers from the Plainville Police Department located the defendant walking by the side of the road. The two high school students identified the defendant as the man they saw walking away from the burning car, and officers took the defendant into custody. In the defendant’s backpack, investigators found a Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun, a Polymer80 semi-automatic ghost gun, a bullet proof vest, black clothing, a ski mask, multiple license plates, gloves, and three 33 round large capacity magazines.
The Plainville Police Department subsequently sent out a flyer with information about the defendant to local police departments, which the Central Falls Police Department received. After recognizing the evidence and investigating further, Central Falls Police investigators confirmed that the burned vehicle matched the vehicle the defendant used to flee the murder scene, and that the shell casings found at the scene were all linked to the guns found in the defendant’s possession.
Special Assistant Attorneys General Edward Mullaney and Jonathan Burke of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Kerry Craig of the Central Falls Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case with the assistance of Detective Lindsay Santos of the Plainville Police Department, the North Attleboro Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police.
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