A workplace dispute that festered for a year ended in the tragic death of Deazo Arkone Seghi, a 22-year-old White/Caucasian male, in Mesa, Arizona. On the afternoon of December 11, 2023, several people called 911 to report gunshots near the intersection of Stapley Drive and Brown Road. Officers arrived at a condominium complex on West Evergreen street around 1:20 p.m. and found Seghi slumped over in the driver’s seat of a parked car.
He had been shot multiple times in the chest and neck and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told police they saw a man in a dark-colored hoodie walk up to Seghi’s car, fire several shots into the driver’s side window, take something from the vehicle, and then run away. A description of the suspect was broadcast to responding officers, who located a man matching the description a short distance away. The man, identified as 29-year-old Tyler McGuire, was found with a handgun and a cellphone. Upon being stopped, he immediately invoked his right to an attorney and was not questioned. Investigators at the scene found shell casings and a backpack the suspect had allegedly dropped, which contained ammunition.
The Mesa Police Department’s forensics lab confirmed that the shell casings from the scene were a match to the handgun found in McGuire’s possession. The investigation soon revealed a motive that began a year before the shooting. In December 2022, McGuire was a supervisor at a local pizza shop where Seghi also worked. Prosecutors said McGuire became fixated on a female employee and told her he had a crush on her, but she made it clear she was not interested. That same month, McGuire confronted Seghi, believing he was also pursuing a relationship with the woman.
Over the following year, McGuire’s anger toward Seghi escalated. He purchased a gun and searched for Seghi’s address. After his arrest, McGuire’s mother informed police about a diary he kept, which detailed his plan to kill his former coworker. One entry read, “I decided a while ago I needed to kill someone. This person hurt me,” while another stated, “If I had my way, I’d be with her. Although that opportunity was stolen from me.”
Tyler McGuire was charged with the murder. He was ultimately convicted by a jury on one count of first-degree murder. In a statement, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said, “This defendant carried out a planned and unprovoked killing, leaving a family to endure an unimaginable loss.” In January 2026, McGuire was sentenced to natural life in prison, bringing the case to a close.
