A 37-year-old New London man charged in a drug-related kidnapping, shooting and beating in 2019 has chosen a nine-year prison sentence over a trial.

Derek Lopez pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on Monday in New London Superior Court where jury selection was slated to begin for his upcoming trial.

Lopez had faced multiple felony charges, including second-degree kidnapping, in connection with a Nov. 25, 2019, incident at a Truman Street home where a woman was held against her will and beaten while her husband was held at gunpoint, forced to watch and later shot in the leg.

Police suspect the beating and shooting were drug related, and that one of the victims was accused of stealing either money or drugs from Lopez.

Lopez is being held on a $750,000 bond and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2. His nine-year prison sentence will be followed by three years of probation as part of the plea agreement. Lopez pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, which means he contests some of the facts alleged by state prosecutors but does not want to face a trial and the possibility of a conviction and a stiffer sentence.

Maribel Perez, a woman who took part in the beating, pleaded guilty in 2021 to second-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault. She is serving a seven-year prison sentence.