SALEM – A 33-year-old East Boston man who admitted running down his former girlfriend and a man on Union Street in Lynn in June will spend five years in state prison before being placed on probation for another two years.In Salem Superior Court Friday afternoon, Roberto Lopez, of 10 Princeton St., #1, Boston, pleaded guilty to six charges.He pleaded guilty to two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery before Judge Timothy Q. Feeley.Assistant District Attorney James P. Gubitose said he was prepared to present evidence at trial that the incident occurred about 10 a.m. on June 1 when Lopez rammed the Toyota Camry he was driving into Vilma Rosales and Edwin Pineda as they crossed near 235 Union St.He then tried to run them down a second time, but they were able to avoid him by moving away from the oncoming car.After that, Lopez jumped out of the Camry, kicked Rosales in the head as she was lying against a wall and then ran after Pineda and punched him to the ground.Witnesses immediately grabbed Lopez and held him until police arrived.Rosales, 28, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was treated for a broken knee and femur.Pineda, 28, of East Boston, was transported to Salem Hospital with a deep gash on his left leg.Lopez reportedly told police he was upset when he saw Rosales with Pineda in Lynn together, because she had promised him she would stop seeing Pineda.Lopez and Rosales, both from El Salvador, had been involved in a relationship for eight years and have two children. They were not married and had recently become separated.Gubitose asked the court to sentence Lopez to at least seven years in prison with a five-year probation term based on the seriousness of the charges and the incident. Defense lawyer Alice Jayne argued for a lesser punishment, proposing two years in prison with probation.The judge credited Lopez the 200 days he has spent in jail awaiting trial on the case.
