Marion County Prosecutor Raymond A. Grogan, Jr., announced today that a Marion County man faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to a September, 2019 murder.
Benjamin Lopez pleaded guilty in Marion County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday to the Murder of Jeremy Clements, age 41, in Clements’ apartment at 439 Smith Street, Marion, on September 24, 2019. Lopez faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. He will be sentenced by visiting Judge William R. Finnegan at a later date.
Lopez, who went to Clements’ apartment in the early morning hours on that date, assaulted and strangled Clements,’ Grogan explained. After killing Clements, Lopez stole Jeremy’s property and attempted to conceal it in an abandoned house next door, he said.
“Lopez initially denied have any contact with Clements for several days, but then admitted he was at the victim’s apartment on the night of the homicide and stole Jeremy’s property,” Grogan said.
“This is the horror that violence brings to the victims of crime and their families in our community,” Grogan said. “This was senseless cruelty to a man who offered comfort and security to someone he thought was a friend. By all accounts, Jeremy was a kind and helpful person who never hurt a fly,” he said.
Clements had befriended Lopez, his girlfriend and children. He permitted the downand-out Lopez family to live in his small apartment, but it was evident Lopez was taking advantage of Jeremy’s hospitality. He stole Jeremy’s new phone and neighbors complained of the noise from Lopez arguing with his girlfriend. Finally, Jeremy’s father told the girlfriend they had to leave because the landlord was blaming Jeremy for the noise.
On the night Lopez went to Jeremy’s apartment, he expected to find his girlfriend and children there, but they had left and he did not know of their whereabouts, Grogan said. That may have contributed to the brutal killing, he said.
Lopez spent nearly 30 minutes removing property from the apartment. Lopez hid the bicycle he had ridden to Jeremy’s apartment in a cluster of trees and bushes and told his friends it had been stolen. “It is likely Lopez was spooked after residents of the apartment saw him leaving Clements’ apartment on his bike in the early morning hours”,” Grogan said. The victim was found face down on the floor of the apartment with glass embedded in his face. Investigators believe Lopez beat Jeremy with a coffee pot as well as his fists, Grogan said.
The official cause of death was strangulation. Methamphetamine was found on Lopez when he was arrested.
“After a ferocious beating, Jeremy was likely dead before Lopez left the apartment,” according to Grogan and as confirmed by a Coroner’s Report.
Charges of Aggravated Murder, Robbery and Kidnapping were dismissed as a result of plea negotiations. Before the murder, Lopez had no felony offenses on his criminal record.
Grogan praised the investigation conducted by the Marion Police Department. “Every detail of this case was identified, investigated and documented by MPD Detectives,” Grogan said. “This was one of the most complete and thorough investigations I have witnessed,” he said