Buford Suspect, 19, Charged With Fatally Choking And Stabbing Man

BUFORD, GA — A 19-year-old Buford man is facing charges after Gwinnett County Police said he choked a man unconscious with a T.V. cable and stabbed him multiple times, killing the man.

A dispute took place around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday at an Ivy Birch Way home. Police accused Erik Ruiz Lopez of engaging in a physical altercation in a bedroom he shared with the man who died. The man was not identified Thursday.

After Lopez was accused of choking the man with the cable, police said he left the room and returned with a knife to stab the man multiple times.

Officers arrived after police said loud noises and grunting had been heard at the home.

When they arrived, they began looking for anyone in distress and saw lights on in the house, police said.

Once the residents came to the door, police said officers noticed they looked as if they had been involved in a physical domestic altercation. The residents were then detained, police said.

Lopez was charged on suspicion of aggravated assault, felony murder and malice murder, police said. He was taken to the Gwinnett County Jail, where records show he remained Thursday.