Nellis airman, ex-wife arrested in 1-year-old son’s 2017 death

A senior airman at Nellis Air Force Base and his ex-wife have been arrested on suspicion of neglect in their 1-year-old son’s September 2017 death, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned.

Robert Lopez, 22, was arrested Jan. 9, while Breanna Lopez, 21, was arrested Feb. 18. Both face one felony count of child abuse or neglect, jail records show.

The Clark County coroner’s office could not determine exactly how or why Carter Lopez, who was born prematurely, died on Sept. 12, 2017, in his father’s apartment bedroom on the 3300 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North.

According to his parents’ arrest report, three components contributed to his death: “prematurity and complications thereof, malnutrition and neglect.” Carter also had bruises on his face, in addition to scratches on his face, hands and chin, at the time of his death.

The 15-page arrest report details alleged instances of neglect, including a June 2017 report of “medical neglect” to Child Protective Services made by an unidentified source, copies of emails and text messages documenting Nellis Air Force Base officials’ efforts to assist the family, a list of missed medical appointments, and an open neglect case against them at the base.

The day he died

The day before Carter died, Breanna Lopez, who was the boy’s main caretaker, called 911 because the boy “was losing color,” the report stated, but paramedics told her that Carter “was okay,” and he was not hospitalized.

Robert Lopez then took his son for the night after Breanna Lopez called him, saying she needed a break.

Through the night, Robert Lopez told police, he checked on Carter every hour to make sure he was breathing — a routine he did out of habit, he said, because Carter suffered from seizures and required an oxygen tank during the first few months after he was born.

But, he said, he slept through his 4 a.m. check, and by the time he woke up around 5 a.m., Carter “was no longer breathing, stiff and cold to the touch,” according to the report. He began CPR while his girlfriend, who also spent the night, called 911.

Robert Lopez could not explain why his son had bruises on his face, the report stated, but reassured police that his ex-wife was the “best mother” and was “very attentive.”

Meanwhile, after learning of her son’s death, Breanna Lopez was hospitalized “due to her mental state,” but she allowed Metropolitan Police Department detectives to search her apartment, according to the report.

It was in “complete disarray,” detectives wrote in the report, describing an apartment littered with trash, dirty diapers, dog feces and urine. Maggots also were found in the trash in the kitchen, and the apartment had a “foul odor,” according to the report.

Breanna Lopez became “defensive and argumentative” when detectives questioned her about the nearly full bottles of medicine they found inside her apartment, saying it appeared that Carter was not being given his medication, according to the report.

In an interview with detectives about a week later, Robert Lopez admitted he could not remember the last time he had taken his son to an appointment but “denied the fact that Carter was supposed to be seeing a doctor on a regular basis,” the report stated.

‘Grave concerns’

A year would pass before a warrant for the pair’s arrest was filed, as detectives waited for the coroner’s office to determine a cause and manner of death, according to the report.

In the meantime, detectives learned from the June report to Child Protective Services that the parents had missed at least seven of their son’s specialty medical appointments in the months prior to his death. The unidentified source expressed “grave concerns” for Carter’s safety, the report stated.

Following the report to Child Protective Services, Nellis Air Force Base officials arranged for several on-base appointments for Carter, but the parents missed at least one of those appointments with a registered nurse.

The nurse wrote in her case summary, “The parents’ lack of motivation to follow up as necessary with doctors and developmental specialist and continued failure to place their own needs aside on behalf of Carter’s best interest places Carter at plausible risk of physical harm.”

An investigator at Nellis Air Force Base also told Metro detectives that Robert Lopez had switched health insurance companies after he was disciplined at the base for missing one of Carter’s mandatory medical appointments. By switching companies, the investigator said, Robert Lopez’s family representative and sergeant could no longer monitor Carter’s appointments.

The coroner’s office closed its investigation into Carter’s death in September 2018, and detectives concluded the pair’s arrest report with the medical examiner’s findings: The boy was undernourished, having lost 12 percent of his body weight in the months leading up to his death, and had sunken eyes, green teeth and green discoloration in his abdominal area.

Carter’s parents remained in custody Friday at the Clark County Detention Center, jail and court records show. Their preliminary hearing is set for April 24.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.