Joshua Antonio Makhanda-Lopez, 30, a Black/African American male, was found shot to death on the night of July 14, 2019, in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, after police and paramedics were called to the Sharon Court apartment complex parking lot near Frankstown Road and Graham Boulevard. He was discovered in the driver's seat of a Chevrolet Impala with a gunshot wound to the head. Some reports identified him as being from Mt.
Oliver, while his death was reported in the Pittsburgh area.
Investigators described the killing as the result of a robbery plot. Authorities said Makhanda-Lopez had been lured to the location, and Allegheny County officials later said the plan fit a pattern in which victims were contacted through social media and drawn to a meeting place to be robbed. After the shooting, witnesses and police activity quickly led investigators toward a nearby home in the 9200 block of Frankstown Road, where suspects were believed to have fled.
One of the suspects identified by police was Onaje Dickinson, 20. Officers searched the nearby residence after several people came out, but Dickinson remained inside. Authorities said he was found hiding in a basement storage area. During that search, Dickinson allegedly opened fire on Penn Hills Officer Jared Rothert. Rothert returned fire, killing Dickinson. Prosecutors later said the officer acted in self-defense, and officials connected Dickinson not only to Makhanda-Lopez's killing, but also to other violent robbery-related incidents under investigation at the time.
A second suspect, Myzle Ford, who was 15 years old, was arrested and charged as an adult. Police charged Ford with homicide, robbery, conspiracy and weapons violations. Authorities alleged that Ford and Dickinson were involved together in the robbery conspiracy that ended with Makhanda-Lopez's death. Ford denied being the shooter and allegedly blamed the fatal gunfire on Dickinson, but prosecutors argued that he could still face homicide liability if he was part of the robbery plan that led to the killing.
Ford was later held for trial as an adult after a preliminary hearing, with the charges against him upheld by a judge. Reports described him entering a not guilty plea. The available reporting details the arrest, charges and trial proceedings, but did not provide a final conviction or sentencing outcome in the sources reviewed.
