LYNN — A 24-year-old man accused of carjacking a vehicle in Lynn, stealing a second car, and crashing into a vehicle in Swampscott was arrested Monday morning.
Jose Lopez Funez, of Lynn, was charged with two counts of using a motor vehicle in felony/larceny and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the Sunday afternoon incident.
Lopez Funez was arraigned in Lynn District Court on Monday afternoon and was held without bail.
The defendant was not arrested and booked until Monday because he was still in the hospital on Sunday night, according to Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec. Lopez Funez was shot by the man he had tried to carjack and was found with a gunshot wound after the Swampscott crash; he was taken by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to a Lynn police report obtained at court.
The man Lopez Funez had attempted to carjack was licensed to carry a gun. The victim had shot at the car, a black Acura, as Lopez Funez was attempting to drive away from 188 South Common St. About a half an hour later, at 3 p.m., Lynn police found the Acura, which had been abandoned at Mandee’s Plaza at 65 Goodridge St., according to the police report.
It was there that police spoke with another man, a delivery driver for Mandee’s Pizza, who said he was talking to someone when the stolen Acura drove up. The man said he wasn’t thinking too much of it, but suddenly his car, which had been running, drove off. Police spoke with another man, who is also a delivery driver for Mandee’s, who said that he saw the Acura pull up, which was followed by the driver getting out, jumping into his coworker’s vehicle (an Audi), and driving off toward Chatham Street, the police report said.
The original stolen Acura was towed back to the Lynn Police Department. Swampscott police officers spotted the stolen Audi in their town, which led to a short pursuit that ended minutes later with the driver, identified as Lopez Funez, in custody on Paradise Road following a crash into another vehicle, a curb, and a pole, the report said.
At this point, police said Lopez Funez was on the ground outside of the stolen vehicle, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the chest. Since Lopez Funez was shot in the chest, police called for a medflight helicopter, which transported the defendant to Massachusetts General Hospital.
The occupants of the car that Lopez Funez crashed into in Swampscott, an adult female driver and her young son, appeared to have no injuries, according to Swampscott police.
“It should be noted that Lopez had a green shirt that the medics cut off of him and he was naked from the waist down,” the Lynn police report said.
During Monday’s arraignment, Kelly Nelligan, a licensed psychologist, told the court that after a mental-health evaluation was performed, it was determined that Lopez Funez needs further evaluation.
The defendant was ordered to undergo an evaluation at Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, which is operated by the state Department of Mental Health, according to court documents.
“(Lopez Funez) does not have a rational understanding of the charges being brought against him,” said Nelligan.
The first victim told police that his car was running, but locked, when he saw Lopez Funez start to tug on the door handles of his vehicle. At the time, the victim said he was sitting in his father’s truck and started to run towards his car. He said he pulled out his gun when Lopez Funez got into his vehicle and he shot one round into the driver’s side door of his vehicle as the defendant was driving away. As the defendant drove by him, he told police he fired two or three more shots toward the back of the car, the police report said.
The victim said his cousin, who was also there, attempted to follow the suspect; the victim got back into his father’s truck and tried to find him as well. But when the victim and his cousin called the police, they were told to go to the police station. The victim said the incident happened “pretty quick.” His gun is being held by police until the investigation is over, the report said.
Lopez Funez is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 19.
