On what was supposed to be a routine workday, Manuel Vega Lopez, a 51-year-old Latino man, was tragically killed. On Monday, May 19, 2025, the devoted landscaper and father of three from Oaxaca, Mexico, was fatally shot in a Gilbert, Arizona neighborhood near Germann and Power Roads. Lopez, who had been a landscaper for over 30 years, was at the property to trim trees at the request of the landlord.
The man arrested in connection with the shooting was 28-year-old Wyatt Ford, a renter of
the home where Lopez was working. Ford allegedly mistook Lopez for a burglar he believed had been tampering with his trailer in the preceding days. According to court documents, the landlord had informed Ford via text message that a landscaper would be on the property that day, a message to which Ford had reportedly replied. Despite this, a confrontation ensued between the two men.
Neighbors reported hearing yelling followed by the sound of four gunshots. Ford's wife had called 911 to report that her husband was confronting the man he suspected of being a thief. After the shooting, a neighbor ran outside and found Ford hysterical and expressing regret, allegedly saying, 'I didn't mean to do it.' The neighbor attempted to perform CPR on Lopez, who had been shot multiple times and was found with a pole saw, a tree trimming tool, nearby. There was no indication that Lopez had used the tool as a weapon.
Manuel Vega Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene. He was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Wyatt Ford was taken into custody and subsequently charged with second-degree murder. He was being held on a $1 million bond. The family of Manuel Vega Lopez, who was the sole provider for his wife and children, remembered him as a kind, hardworking, and selfless man who was always there for his family.
