ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The 20-year-old man who faces charges of murder and attempted murder after an argument at a St. Johns County construction site turned violent has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.
Yovany Lopez Cobo, who is accused of fatally shooting one man and wounding two others, is currently being held without bond in the St. Johns County jail.
During his first appearance on the morning of March 5, Cobo said “yes, sir” when asked if he spoke and understood English, and when asked if he needed a public defender.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the two men who were wounded were seriously injured but are expected to recover.
What happened
Deputies said the incident began around 4:26 p.m. Wednesday when the sheriff’s office received calls of shots being fired near the Courtney Groves subdivision of SilverLeaf, around Crimson Leaf Drive and Johns Island Parkway.
Deputies say Lopez Cobo and a man he was working with were constructing a new road in the area, similar to Johns Island Parkway, when they got into an argument that turned physical.
According to his arrest report, the entire incident was captured by surveillance video.
Lopez Cobo told investigators that he was trying to leave after work when his co-worker confronted him about something he had said earlier, and the two began arguing.
According to the report, Lopez Cobo said that the co-worker tried to punch him and his brother and kicked Lopez Cobo, “which put him in fear for his life.”
That’s when he fired shots at the co-worker, who was hit in the stomach and died at the scene, investigators said.
Deputies say the surveillance video shows the two men having a conversation, and then the co-worker appears to kick Lopez Cobo before stepping away.
Deputies said that’s when Lopez Cobo pulled the pistol from his waistband and fired several times at the co-worker.
Two other co-workers nearby saw what was happening and tried to intervene, but both were hit by gunshots.
Quick capture
Witnesses told St. Johns County deputies that the shooter, later identified by investigators as Lopez Cobo, left in a vehicle that got onto I-95 South, near International Golf Parkway.
A license plate reader picked up the vehicle near CR 210 and St. Johns Parkway, and the vehicle was then spotted getting off at a Love’s truck stop on State Road 206.
“We have people in the community that don’t want to tolerate that when they witness violent crime,” Sheriff Rob Hardwick said. “They’re not afraid to call us because they know we’re going to come and do the right thing and hold people accountable.”
Lopez Cobo and his brother were taken into custody at the truck stop around 4:53 p.m., 27 minutes after the first reports of shots being fired.
According to his arrest report, deputies found a Glock 19 9mm handgun on Lopez Cobo when he was arrested.
Lopez Cobo has been charged with second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The incident comes almost two months after it was announced that the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office had recorded zero homicides in 2025, which was touted as a notable accomplishment for a county with over 300,000 people.
“Last year... just caught a lucky year by the grace of God,” Hardwick said. “But I know we’re not immune to having violent crime in St. Johns County.”