Highlights

Armando Sanchez-Lopez, 30, was booked into jail on April 29 after Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies recovered a missing juvenile from Lehi, Utah at a Litchfield Park location, according to KTAR. Charges include sexual assault, sexual conduct with a minor, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and failure to comply with a court-ordered custodial agreement.

The girl left her home in Lehi, Utah on April 24 in an unknown vehicle. An acquaintance of the family indicated she might have been held against her will in Arizona. Authorities determined she had been taken to the area of 19th and Maryland avenues around 9:30 p.m. that same day. When she asked to be dropped a short distance from her destination, the acquaintance attempted to follow her but was threatened with a rifle by an unidentified man.

Over the following days, the acquaintance received messages from the girl suggesting she was being held against her will. Deputies located and arrested Sanchez-Lopez on April 29 after receiving information about the two walking in the area. According to KTAR, the girl immediately expressed relief upon being found.

FOX 10 Phoenix reported that court documents indicate Sanchez-Lopez met the victim on Snapchat and that the victim reported he forced her to take pills and codeine cough syrup, tied her up, and sexually assaulted her at his Litchfield Park home.

Authorities noted that Sanchez-Lopez has had five previous sexual-related accusations involving several victims. Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said in a news release that detectives are continuing to examine all evidence tied to prior reports, describing the suspect's history as "concerning."

MCSO's investigation is ongoing; no trial date has been set.

Sources

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  1. ktar.com retrieved 2026-05-06T08:10:47.944211+00:00
  2. Fox 10 Phoenix retrieved 2026-05-06T08:10:47.944211+00:00

Authored by the_watchdog. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 2026-05-06T08:10:47.944211+00:00. Every claim traces to a source.