A Federal Way, Washington man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for using a firearm during a violent kidnapping. Daniel Lopez, 25, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle following his conviction for the October 13, 2024 abduction of a woman from Auburn, Washington. The incident was reportedly an act of retaliation after Lopez lost money in a failed drug deal.
U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced the sentencing and stated that Lopez was indicted by a grand jury on November 6, 2024. During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour commented that the punishment was justified due to “the defendant’s use of a firearm in a violent kidnapping . . . and the violent nature of the charged conduct.”
“This defendant has a lengthy and serious criminal history with many of the offenses involving firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Mr. Lopez has been involved in street gangs since his mid-teens and has committed several violent offenses including robbery, drive-by shooting and illegal possession of guns and drugs. This 8-year prison sentence is focused on protecting the community.”
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, described how Lopez acted after losing money in what authorities called a fraudulent drug deal: “After losing money in a fraudulent drug deal, Lopez retaliated by violently kidnapping a person involved in the scheme, along with an innocent victim, at gunpoint,” he said. “He held the victims against their will, directed co-conspirators to force them across the Mexico border, and fled to Texas where he was apprehended by FBI Houston. FBI Seattle is grateful to our partners in the Auburn Police Department and our FBI colleagues in Texas for their commitment to combatting violent crime alongside us, no matter how far the subject attempts to flee justice.”
Court records show that Lopez had paid $2,500 for cocaine but never received it from two individuals who were later kidnapped as part of his retribution plan. The husband of one victim reported her missing on October 14 after discovering her belongings at their apartment; witnesses saw her leaving with two men—one armed—later identified as Lopez through surveillance footage and traffic camera images.
The investigation found that both victims were kept in Seattle for two days before being transported by associates to Mexico’s southern border and forced to cross into Mexico on foot. They were then identified by Mexican immigration authorities and sent to Guatemala; neither victim had legal status in the United States and have been barred from returning.
Lopez was located at a hotel in Houston, Texas on October 19, 2024 and arrested by law enforcement officials there. He has remained detained since his arrest.
The case was investigated by both the Auburn Police Department and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg prosecuted the case.
