Utah's Cold Cases: Detectives take new look at deadly 2015 roadside shooting in Ogden

OGDEN — More than 10 years later, Weber County cold case detectives are taking a new look at a roadside shooting that claimed the life of an 18-year-old.

On May 3, 2015, Francisco Lopez was walking home to his dad's house from a party at his mother's home.

At roughly 12:35 a.m., he was at the northwest corner of the intersection of 7th Street and Harrison Boulevard near Ben Lomond High School.

According to Steve Haney, investigator with the Weber Metro Cold Case Task Force, witnesses waiting to turn left to go north on Harrison spotted Lopez raising his arms.

"He made a few gestures with his arms going up, as if to question and almost confront somebody who was back toward the north," Haney explained during an interview with KSL-TV at the intersection.

As the light turned green, the witnesses said they heard several "pops" and described seeing Lopez as he was being hit by gunfire.

"They all stopped," Haney said. "They all tried to render aid. They all ran to help Francisco."

Meanwhile, Haney said the suspected shooter slipped away, and witness descriptions only spoke of a vague "passenger vehicle" with taillights heading west on 7th Street.

The ordeal left the family devastated, and that devastation has lasted for over a decade.

"I miss my son, you know," said Aurelio Sandoval, Lopez's father. "It's just so much pain."

He remembered his son as a funny and loving teenager who loved to walk.

Sandoval said Lopez's killing, which has yet to result in an arrest, has taken a heavy toll on family members—especially on Francisco's late mother.

"She took her life," Sandoval said. "And a lot of it had to do with Francisco not being around anymore. She would go and visit him daily and cry."

The father said nothing has been the same since the shooting.

"I just don't think you can make it right," Sandoval said. "You cannot make that right. You can never make it right."

Both Sandoval and Haney said Lopez was never part of any gang, but the shooter could have possibly been gang-affiliated, given other incidents at the time.

"There were shootings around Ogden that were similar in nature," Haney said.

He said those drive-by shootings would usually begin with those in the vehicle asking a question.

"It's 'who you bang,' or 'do you bang,'" Haney said of the gang-banging reference.

Haney said that, depending on the response, the occupants of the vehicle would open fire.

"And it was a case of mistaken identity," Haney said. "And they shot him for no reason."

Even on Wednesday, Haney said, home and street surveillance cameras would have offered more clues to potentially lead to the killer, but unfortunately, the video sources at the time provided little help in solving the case.

Instead, he was hoping someone out there might help to provide answers.

"Cases that are, you know, 40, 50 years old can be solved — this one is 10 years old," Haney said. "The right person who says the right thing at the right time could absolutely solve this case."

Haney said the Weber Metro Cold Case Task Force is raising money to help pay for DNA and other advanced testing on this and other cold cases through its website.

Anybody with information on Lopez's killing, or other Weber County cold cases, is asked to call or text the task force at 801-399-8672.

Utah's Cold Cases is a series of KSL-TV stories and podcasts that highlight unsolved homicides, deaths and disappearances in our state. The Utah's Cold Cases podcast can be found wherever you listen.

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