Olympic Medalist Gets 4 Years for Burglary

Hector Lopez, 1984 Olympic boxing silver medalist, was sentenced Friday to four years in state prison on a charge of residential burglary with the use of a firearm.

Lopez, 22, of Glendale, pleaded guilty in March to the charge and to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Lopez was arrested last year on suspicion of kidnaping after he allegedly forced his ex-girlfriend, Norma A. Gomez, at gunpoint from her Glendale home after beating her father and a guest.

Police said Lopez released Gomez two days later with a bump on her head and a bruised arm.

In a plea bargain negotiated this spring between Lopez’s attorney, Ralph Bencangey, and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, the kidnaping charge was dropped. Later, the district attorney’s office said it would not seek additional jail time for Lopez on the assault charges.

Lopez won a silver medal for Mexico at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games while still a junior at Hoover High School. He later competed as a professional.