PORTLAND, Oregon — A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge sentenced a woman to prison on Wednesday for stabbing and killing a Radio Cab driver in April 2023.
Thirty-year-old Moses Lopez was sentenced to 22 years in prison for fatally stabbing Reese Lawhon in Southeast Portland.
Lopez changed her plea to guilty on one count of manslaughter in the first degree and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. The judge accepted the plea and imposed the sentence Wednesday morning. At the time of the fatal stabbing, Lopez already had a warrant out for her arrest from Coos County, but those charges are expected to be waived as part of the plea deal.
On April 9, 2023, officers responded to a report of a stabbing near the intersection of Southeast Washington Street and Water Avenue. They found 43-year-old Reese Lawhon dead in his vehicle.
“Reese suffered such a cruel ending to such a beautiful life is beyond reprehensible," said Kathy Rosenthal, Reese's godmother.
A probable cause affidavit says the driver of a nearby AMR ambulance saw a Radio Cab stopped in the middle traffic lane with a person slumped over the steering wheel. The AMR crew saw a person, later identified as Moses Lopez, getting out of the cab. Lopez appeared to have blood on her clothes and what looked like a set of brass-style knuckles with an attached blade, according to the affidavit. Lopez was treated for minor injuries, and officers arrested her.
"The Radio Cab management team that unfortunately had to see the video are traumatized, I being one of them," said Darin Campbell with Radio Cab. "I saw what Lopez did. And the excuses that were made in the courtroom today were disgraceful."
Detectives obtained surveillance video from inside the vehicle, showing that the passenger, Lopez, stabbed Lawhon in the neck. The footage showed Lawhon pick up Lopez and confirm the destination, the affidavit says. However, Lopez appeared to inadvertently give the wrong address. After the cab arrived at the destination, Lopez provided a different address, then moved towards Lawhon and appeared to stab him in the neck.
“I’m haunted daily by what Reese must have felt in those last 45 seconds. I wonder, was he scared? Did he think of us?" asked Reese's sister, Natalie Boenker.
The Oregonian reported that Lopez had been partying in downtown Portland and called 911 to ask for a ride home after "the evening took a turn for the worse." The operator told Lopez to call a cab, and Lopez said the Radio Cab dispatcher entered the wrong address, The Oregonian reported.
Lopez provided a statement during Wednesday's hearing, and said she was in distress when the stabbing happened and acted out of fear when there was confusion about her drop-off location. She and her attorney went on to say she was often fearful of being targeted as a transgender woman.
“I want you to know that I accept the way that you feel," said Lopez in the courtroom. "I am sorry for what happened and I am sorry that you lost someone you loved. I hope that someday something can bring you peace to your soul.”
Following Lawhon's death, dozens of Radio Cab drivers paid tribute to him by lining the streets. They remembered him as a talented artist and musician.
Lopez will serve her prison sentence at the Oregon Department of Corrections.