Transgender killer, Moses Lopez, smirks at grieving family of slain Oregon cab driver

An Oregon killer smirked as the grieving family of the cabbie they fatally stabbed spoke in court, while they refused to take responsibility for last year’s Easter Sunday tragedy.

Moses J. Lopez, 30, who identifies as transgender, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Wednesday for the fatal stabbing of 43-year-old Reese Lawhon, a driver for Radio Cab in Portland.

Lopez had pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon in exchange for Circuit Judge Heidi Moawad giving the 22-year sentence — a lesser penalty compared to the original second-degree murder charge Lopez initially faced.

Lawhon had picked up and driven Lopez to an area underneath a highway overpass in East Portland just after 6:40 p.m. on April 9, 2023 after being given the wrong address to Lopez’s apartment, according to the Oregonian.

Lopez, a certified nursing assistant at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in North Portland, had been partying in downtown Portland when things got “bad,” prompting Lopez to call 911 looking for a ride home.

The 911 dispatcher told the eventual killer to call a cab, but the Radio Cab dispatcher had allegedly put in the wrong destination address, Lopez told the court during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.

When Lawhon arrived, Lopez confirmed the destination to be Southeast Third Avenue and Washington Street, only to give a different address upon arrival, the newspaper reported, citing a video from inside the cab.

As the cab pulled up to the wrong location, Lawhon realized the mistake and began driving to the correct location, when Lopez reached out from the backseat and stabbed him, read a bail memo based on the cab’s camera footage and obtained by the Oregonian.

A private ambulance crew based by the cab at the time of the stabbing and saw a person, in bloody clothing, getting out of the cab and drop a pair of brass knuckles with an attached blade, the newspaper previously reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.

Police found Lawhon dead inside the cab with two stab wounds to his neck.

“I ended up in a very scary part of town where I was genuinely afraid,” Lopez said Wednesday. “I refuse to apologize for the lack of help that I so desperately needed.”

Lopez addressed Lawhon’s family but still fell short of apologizing for the murder.

“I want you to know that I accept the way that you feel,” said Lopez. “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.”   

The cab company blasted Lopez’s several excuses, saying Lawhon had initially realized the mistake and was the first person who would have fixed the problem.

“The excuses that were made in the courtroom today for (Lopez’s) actions are disgraceful,” Radio Cab spokesperson Darin Campbell said following the hearing.

Lopez’s attorneys also gave several excuses for their clients’ actions including growing up on the Oregon coast, having a tough childhood and being forced to leave home at a young age.

Lopez was also allegedly a victim of violence, according to attorney Carmen Taylor who failed to specify her claim.

Lawhon, a visual artist and acclaimed musician was remembered as caring, witty and loving.

“The most caring, witty, loving son, brother, uncle and dear friend you could possibly imagine having. He had the best gift of making people laugh and smile,” the Lawhon family said in a statement following the stabbing.

Members of Lawhon’s family blasted the tragic death as senseless and done by a monster.

“Words cannot express the horror, pain and finality of this crime,” his mother Ginger Lawhon told the court virtually. “Reese’s death was senseless and we are more than heartbroken. However, we refuse to define his life by this ending.”

“We tell our kids so many times that monsters aren’t under the bed or in the closet, but it’s all a lie,” said Claire Pearce, one of Reese Lawhon’s two sisters. “Moses Lopez is a monster and will always be one.”