September 28, 2026 | By: Ethan Howick

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Domingo “Chopperman” Lopez was always into wheeled vehicles. He even garnered the nickname “Chop,” because he loved to build and ride chopper-style bicycles.

Whether it was bicycles, traditional cars, or even racecars, Chop was always on the move. His older brother, Joe “Jun” Lopez recounted a moment when young Chop was seen “popping wheelies” with wheelchairs in a hospital hallway. “The nurses were giggling,” Joe said. “They just let him have at it.”

Chop’s affinity for vehicles was cut short at age 25 when he was shot twice and killed outside of a Bronx nightclub in 1990.  To this day, his murder has never been solved.

Domingo was born on May 19, 1965, growing up in the Bronx, at 951 E. 179^th Street 2-3 blocks from the Bronx Zoo. He found an interest in bicycles while playing with neighborhood kids, and as a teenager, his interests shifted to cars and automobiles.

When Chop was a kid, Jun enlisted in the Army, starting at the end of 1977. While both were in different stages of life, the brothers relished every moment spent with each other. Their parents didn’t have a lot of money, so a lot of their time spent together consisted of running errands, going shopping and occasionally getting food.

Jun and Chopper helped their mother, who raised them and their sisters as a single mom. One time, they chipped in to buy their mother a new television. Jun treasures the photo taken that day, remembering the gift and his mother’s reaction saying, “Everybody had big smiles. Both of us were kissing our mother on the cheek.”

In the early 1980s, Chop was into rap music, freestyle music, turntables & associated with acquaintances who did breakdancing. During his free time, he enjoyed listening to cassette tapes and hanging out with friends, wearing his Adidas sneakers.

With his friends, Chop formed a car club called the “98 Club.” He owned an Oldsmobile 98 with boomerang antennas, cassette players and booming speakers in the trunk.

Chop graduated from William Howard Taft High School. He soon got a job in a mechanics shop doing what he loved. “He was excellent at it; he was extremely efficient and very knowledgeable in that field,”.

Beyond fixing cars, Chop dabbled in street racing, building cars to race at a dirt track in English Town, New York. When Jun returned home from the Army in 1983, he found what his little brother was doing impressive.

“I was so impressed with him,” Jun said. “I hadn’t seen him in a few years. He was all grown up.”

Jun occasionally went shopping with Chop in downtown Manhattan. He remembers buying sheepskin coats, something he said was in style.  Jun purchased a charcoal-colored one, and Chop got a brown coat. Sometimes, they would visit the movie theater, the “Whiteston Theater” in the Bronx. These short but important moments made Jun appreciate his relationship with his brother. “We were very close and he just lit up a room,” Jun said. “Made you laugh a lot.”

Before cell phones, the brothers kept in touch using beepers. Because both were busy in early adulthood, they didn’t hang out all of the time, but they were always there for each other. “If he was around, he’d lend a hand not only to me but others in the neighborhood,” Jun added.

Jun described his brother as a selfless, handy, trendy and busy person. Throughout his life, he used his skills to help others and bring joy into people’s lives. A man with many friends, talents and interests, “He was very likeable, he was very fun,” Jun reflected. “There was not a bad bone in his body.”

Despite having a couple of girlfriends, Chop never married or had children. He sported long, curly hair, a mustache, and dressed in many different colors. He wasn’t into wearing shorts. Instead, Chop wore gold chains, rings, jeans and when dressed up, sweaters and slacks.

On September 30, 1990, the brothers were going out for the night at what was referred to as the “triangle of nightclubs.” Jun arrived at the club a couple of hours before Chop. At around 2 a.m., the brothers decided to leave the PC’s Lounge at 854 Westchester Avenue Bronx, New York. It was right across from Riddler’s Lounge on the corner of Leland and Westchester Avenues. Outside of the club, Chop was speaking with a female, who was a sister to a family friend. The brothers then turned to walk away and had only taken a couple steps before, “I turned to my right to see my brother had been pushed or hit. I fought against the bunch in front, the side of the club and across the avenue to the other side before lights came into view behind me,” Jun said.

“My first instinct was to defend him,” he added. “For what seemed like an eternity, I was fighting with these guys next to the establishment.”

At the end of the fight, while the unknown attackers were still aggressively approaching, Jun suddenly saw ambulance lights and the assailants had dispersed. Jun went inside the ambulance to be treated for his injuries. He didn’t know where his brother was until detectives tracked him down and informed him his brother was deceased at the scene under a parked car in front of 1250 Leland Avenue.

According to the New York Times, 1990 was a peak year for murders in the five boroughs. Just the Bronx alone totaled 653 homicides, including the murder of Domingo “Chopperman” Lopez. For the whole family, Jun said, this was a “very traumatizing time.” Jun spent the next few days at his sister’s house, recovering from his wounds.

Jun recounted the funeral, burial and procession, consisting of what he estimated to be 70 cars. He continued to call the detectives, pleading for answers. Inside of his current residence, Jun remembers his brother by keeping a photo of Chop. “Anyone would be proud and happy to have a sibling like him,” Jun said. “Whoever does, even with half of the character he had, will be blessed.”

If Chop were still around, he would be racing cars and potentially owning his own mechanic’s shop. Currently, Jun lives near the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, and he occasionally hears sounds during races. And whenever he hears a racecar zooming by, he thinks of his late brother, Domingo “Chopperman” Lopez.

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Anyone with information concerning Domingo Lopez’s unsolved homicide is asked to call the NYPD 43rd precinct at (718) 542-5530. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-8477.

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