Eddie Lopez Jr, 33, was shot and killed in Tucson on the night of Monday, August 17, 2026. Officers found him at a residence near Sahuara Avenue and East 29th Street; he was pronounced dead at the scene and the Tucson Police Department opened a homicide investigation. Initial reports said there were no suspects and the motive was unclear.

Detectives later traced a digital trail tied to a planned sale of a firearm. Text messages led investigators to a Sierra Vista home where 18-year-old Angel Valenzuela was arrested and officers recovered the stolen gun, ammunition, and Valenzuela’s phone. Valenzuela admitted he and another person planned to rob Lopez of the firearm.

The second suspect was identified as 19-year-old Derek Walker Poff. An arrest warrant for Poff was obtained August 21 and he was taken into custody at his Sierra Vista residence after a search warrant was served with Cochise County sheriff’s SWAT assistance. Both Valenzuela and Poff were charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery; Poff also faced a count of discharging a firearm within city limits and was held in the Pima County Jail on $1 million bond.

Did anyone in Tucson or Sierra Vista recognize Lopez, know where he was arranging the sale, or see anything the night of August 17?