In the early morning hours of July 10, 2016, the life of 24-year-old Hispanic male Marvin Lopez was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire in Kearns, Utah. A hardworking man in the construction field, he was remembered by his family as a good brother, son, and father.
The night of his death, Marvin was at a party on the 4200 block of West 5615 South. The gathering was twice disturbed by violence. The first incident occurred around 3:15 a.m.
when a white vehicle, possibly a Chrysler, sped by, and shots were fired into the air. Police responded to find shell casings in the street, but no victims. Less than an hour later, a different car, a dark-colored sedan, slowly drove past the house, turned around, and came back. Inside were four men.
One of the men in the car asked for a specific individual and claimed they were looking for a member of a certain gang. It was at this moment that Marvin Lopez stepped forward and stated that he was from that gang. In response, a passenger in the back seat of the car produced a handgun and opened fire. As Marvin and a witness tried to run for cover, multiple shots were fired. Marvin was struck three times, twice in the chest and once in his left leg. He was rushed to a local hospital in a private vehicle but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
For years, the case grew cold, leaving Marvin's family with a sense of frustration and a belief that the investigation into another gang-related shooting was not a priority for law enforcement. However, detectives continued to work on the case. A significant breakthrough came in 2022 when the Utah State Crime Lab discovered that the. 380 shell casings found at the scene of Marvin's murder matched casings from another shooting that had occurred just nine days prior in West Valley City.
This ballistic evidence led investigators to focus on Jimmy Alexis Lopez, who was 18 at the time of the shooting and a known gang member with a violent criminal history. He was not related to Marvin. Further investigation revealed that Jimmy Lopez had been arrested for another unrelated shooting just months after Marvin's death. A search of his phone at that time uncovered evidence of his gang activities and online searches for news articles about Marvin's homicide, as well as information on gun ballistics. In May 2023, a witness to the shooting positively identified Jimmy Lopez in a photo lineup.
In February 2025, nearly nine years after Marvin Lopez's death, Jimmy Alexis Lopez, then 27, was arrested and charged with murder and multiple counts of felony discharge of a firearm. The arrest brought a complex mix of emotions for Marvin's family, who had endured years of grief and uncertainty. While the arrest marked a significant step towards justice, his brother expressed that true closure might never be possible. Authorities have indicated that they are seeking to speak with three other individuals who were in the car with the suspect on the night of the murder.
