A grieving brother returned Thursday to the SilverLeaf construction site where his sibling had been shot and killed less than a day earlier, quietly shoveling dirt over a dark patch of blood.
He told The Citizen that he wanted to cover it before the victim’s wife arrived.
Joseph Manfredi’s spouse briefly came to the site near the intersection of Crimson Leaf Drive and Johns Island Parkway where he died before departing.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the shooting happened shortly before 4:45 p.m. Wednesday when a dispute between coworkers at the construction site escalated into gunfire.
Investigators say 20-year-old Yovany Lopez Cobo, of Baker County, shot and killed one coworker and wounded two others.
Deputies responded after multiple 911 callers reported gunfire in the area. Manfredi’s boyfriend told dispatchers he had been shot in the stomach by a man who fled the scene in a blue or gray sedan.
License plate reader cameras later captured the vehicle near County Road 210 and St. Johns Parkway, investigators said. Deputies located the car and conducted a traffic stop at a Love’s gas station on State Road 206.
During the stop, Lopez Cobo told deputies the firearm was in his pants pocket, according to the arrest report.
Deputies recovered a Glock 19 9mm handgun.
Lopez Cobo and a passenger were taken to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division for questioning.
Investigators say surveillance video from the construction site captured an argument between Lopez Cobo and the victim moments before the shooting.
According to reports, Manfredi was upset about comments Cobo made about his wife.
The footage shows the two men speaking before the victim appears to kick Lopez Cobo, the arrest report states.
Lopez Cobo then pulls a handgun from his waistband and fires several shots.
Manfredi was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other men were struck by gunfire and taken to area hospitals with serious injuries. According to investigators, one victim was shot in the right thigh and another suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.
During questioning by detectives, Lopez Cobo claimed he fired the gun because he feared for his life after the altercation escalated, papers state.
Detectives recovered several 9mm shell casings at the scene.
Lopez Cobo was arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, according to the sheriff’s office.
The incident marked St. Johns County’s first criminal homicide in more than a year.
Residents of the SilverLeaf area were troubled by the slaying.
“I lived in Riverside for six years and never had a problem, despite people’s fear of the area’s crime. And now, I come here to SilverLeaf, and it’s supposed to be this great area, but now this happens. I haven’t even lived here one year,” said SilverLeaf resident Kayla Vong.
Vong said Wednesday’s murder wasn’t the first concerning incident involving construction workers in her area.
She said that in late 2025, a seemingly intoxicated construction worker came to their front door to ask for a machete.
Other residents told The Citizen said the tragic incident was isolated and could have happened anywhere.
“I feel safe, I do. You just have to be careful,” Sierra Spruzy, 34, said.
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