Man hired to do ‘odd jobs’ runs over and kills 85-year-old boss, Arizona deputies say

An 85-year-old man was killed after a worker he had hired to do “odd jobs” ran him over in Arizona, deputies said.

Melvin Moore was found lying on the side of a street at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Randolph, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Moore was taken to a hospital with serious injuries where he died, authorities said.

Before being struck, he hired 20-year-old Ricky Gibson “to do odd jobs for him,” deputies said.

But Moore noticed his motorized bike was missing, so he went to confront Gibson over the stolen bike, according to the sheriff’s office.

During the encounter, Gibson “overpowered Moore,” got into his truck and ran him over, deputies said.

Gibson was arrested on a first-degree murder charge and is being held on a $1 million bail.

“My thoughts are with Moore’s family during this time of grieving,” Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said in the post.

Randolph is about 60 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix.

This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Man hired to do ‘odd jobs’ runs over and kills 85-year-old boss, Arizona deputies say."

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.