'Devoted' Landscaper Was Sent to Trim a Tree Outside a Home. The Renter Allegedly Shot Him To Death
Police arrested Wyatt Ford on a second-degree murder charge
Vega's daughter is raising funds for her family after her father was killedA man who was hired as a landscaper by a landlord was allegedly fatally shot by a renter on the property, police said.
Manuel Vega Lopez, 51, was killed in Gilbert, Ariz., on Monday, May 19, the Gilbert Police Department said in a statement.
The following day, police arrested 28-year-old Wyatt Ford in connection with the shooting, per the statement.
Authorities say police responding to a report of an 'argument' found Lopez's body in front of a residence.
Lopez was shot while police were en route.
According to court documents cited by AZ Family, ABC 15 and AZ Central, Ford assumed Lopez was responsible for what Ford and his wife believed to be a break-in in their trailer a few days prior.
However, authorities alleged in court documents that Ford had been informed by the landlord that a landscaper would be coming to the location to trim trees in the yard, the outlets reported.
Ford's wife told authorities Ford had received the text message and responded to it.
After the shooting, one witness alleged they heard Ford saying 'I didn't mean to,' according to court documents cited by AZ Central.
In a GoFundMe set up to assist his family with taking his body to his native Mexico, Lopez's daughter said he was a "devoted hardworking landscaper" and the "eyes and legs" for his wife, who is on dialysis and losing her eyesight.
"He was a caring, attentive, respectful and loving husband, father and friend. A life full of love, hope, happiness and anything life could offer," Manuelita Vega said in the fundraiser.
"He built our family a home not in elegance but in simplicity and contentment. As a father, he worked with all his strength in all the ways he could, to earn the income and gave his family all the support he could," she added.
Lopez's son, a cancer survivor, also remains ill as the family grieves the "caring, attentive" landscaper's death, Vega wrote.Wyatt Ford was taken into the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on charges of second-degree murder, per Gilbert Police's statement.
It wasn't immediately clear if he has entered a plea. An attorney listed for him in court records did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Family mourns father and son lost in Poway crash that killed 5
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A family is grieving the loss of their father and brother after a collision took their lives Friday in Poway. Marcial Rivera, 59 and his son, Emmanuel Rivera, 32, were killed in a three-vehicle collision near Iron Mountain Drive that claimed the lives of five people. Their family says the two worked for a local landscaping company and were on their way to a job. Five people die in crash near Poway that sparked a brush fire 'I know my father's in a better place, but this is very hard,' said Ana Rivera. The family shared video captured by a passing Tesla that shows a pickup truck hit the other vehicles head-on in the opposite lanes of traffic, which included Rivera's son's pickup truck. The family is hoping to raise awareness about the dangers of Highway 67. Man fatally struck by car on SR-67 in Ramona, CHP says Emmanuel Rivera's girlfriend is five months pregnant and figuring out how to cope with welcoming a newborn baby without him. Marcial Rivera and his wife, Regina, were married 35 years and had five children together. Family members say Rivera was a hard worker and a devoted man of God. A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family pay for funeral expenses and other needs. An all day fundraiser that's open to the public will take place Sunday starting at 7 a.m. at 31440 Valley Center Road in Valley Center. The names of the other three victims have not yet been released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Miami Herald
16 hours ago
- Miami Herald
ICE ‘abducted' 22-year-old student seeking medical help in Virginia, group says
A 22-year-old Virginia Tech engineering student was 'abducted' by federal immigration authorities after he went to a hospital during a mental health crisis, an immigrant advocacy group denouncing his detention said. Cristian Romo-Bermejo, who has lived in the U.S. for the last 20 years and is married to an American citizen, was arrested July 9 while seeking medical help in Blacksburg, Virginia, according to a July 21 news release from CASA, a national organization with more than 173,000 members. Following his arrest, he was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, CASA said. An ICE spokesperson confirmed to McClatchy News on July 22 that Romo-Bermejo is in ICE detention. In a statement, they said he is from Mexico and is illegally in the U.S. He 'was arrested by the Blacksburg Police Department July 9 and charged with two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer,' the spokesperson said. Then ICE in D.C. 'lodged an immigration detainer against Romo-Bermejo with the Montgomery County Jail in Christiansburg, Virginia.' On July 13, he was transferred from the jail and into ICE custody, according to the spokesperson. Romo-Bermejo's wife Jadyn Yost told McClatchy News on July 22 that he was at a going-away party for his co-worker July 9, when he had been drinking and later had 'severe panic attacks' that evening. 'He became disoriented, overwhelmed, and frightened,' Yost said in an emailed statement. 'Cristian begged for an ambulance' and his friends 'called for help,' Yost explained. She said this resulted in an ambulance and police responding. Afterward, at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, Romo-Bermejo was accused of threatening staff and assaulting two officers evaluating him for suspected alcohol poisoning, according to Blacksburg police, CBS 19 News reported. Yost told the TV station that he 'was not trying to cause harm,' adding that the incident was 'completely out of character.' Romo-Bermejo was brought to the U.S. when he was 2, reads a GoFundMe created by Jadyn Yost's twin sister Haven Yost, who is helping raise money for Romo-Bermejo's legal defense. The night of his arrest, he was overwhelmed and in a 'fragile mental state' and 'only remembers waking up in a jail cell,' Jadyn Yost told McClatchy News. 'He is the love of my life,' she said, adding that 'he has spent his entire life trying to gain legal status in the only country he calls home.' Despite his ongoing efforts, CASA said he is at risk of deportation. CASA is calling for his release and for elected officials to speak on his situation. The organization's director in Virginia, Eduardo Zelaya, said in a statement that Romo-Bermejo is being subjected to 'illegal and inhumane criminalization.' 'He experienced a health emergency and should have received care and compassion, not handcuffs and detention,' Zelaya added. The ICE spokesperson told McClatchy News that when the agency took Romo-Bermejo into custody, he was issued a notice that ordered him to appear in federal immigration court to face a Justice Department judge. 'Romo-Bermejo will further be held in custody without bond as he is subject to mandatory detention under the Laken Riley Act,' the spokesperson said. He is being held at ICE's Farmville Detention Center in Farmville, Virginia, Jadyn Yost told McClatchy News. 'If this had happened to any other 22 year old college student, someone who was not brought to this country as a toddler, they would still be preparing for their final year of school,' she said. 'They would not be sitting in a detention center facing the absolute harshest consequences imaginable.' Romo-Bermejo is due in court Oct. 16 in connection with the criminal charges he is facing, Jadyn Yost shared. 'In the meantime, we are holding onto hope that he will be granted bond soon so we can continue moving forward with our pending marriage-based I-130 petition and give him the chance to continue his journey toward citizenship,' she added. 'He deserves to come home and continue building the life he has worked so hard for.'
CBS News
18 hours ago
- CBS News
12-year-old battling total kidney failure named Suffolk County sheriff for a day
A Long Island boy battling complete kidney failure became Suffolk County's top cop Tuesday. Wyatt Houppert, 12, is set to have surgery in less than a week. Doctors say it will save his life. Tuesday, he was the honorary Suffolk County Sheriff for the day. It's only the second time in the last eight years that the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department has done so. It comes with certain perks, like trying out any vehicle in the fleet, and "arresting" CBS News New York's John Dias. Houppert was born with only one kidney, and it recently began to fail. That means he needed dialysis four times a week to survive, until her could get a transplant. "it was already hard enough with the one kidney. Then now, since February, it was like getting hit by a Mack truck all of a sudden," his mother Devan said. The community rallied together and started up a GoFundMe for financial support. The boy's true hero, however, was family friend Dawn Rice, who is a perfect match for a kidney transplant. "An angel on earth. She acts like its no big deal and we are just like, are you kidding? This is amazing," Devan said. Rice said she's paying it forward. Two of her relatives needed transplants. "I know how important it is, to give a person another second chance at life," Rice said. "You don't need both kidneys. Share your spare." Rice's is the wife and sister of two correction officers with the sheriff's office. When word made its way to the department, they wanted to help Wyatt, too. "There is an additional support system that he knows that is available, to him and his family," Sheriff Errol Toulon, Jr. said. It's all meant to help Wyatt go from fearful to cheerful as he endures his next medical chapter. "All this positivity and love from everyone means a lot," Devan said. "We are very happy that he is able to have a second chance." Wyatt's transplant is set for Monday.
