Fort Worth man accused of murdering apartment maintenance worker

FORT WORTH, Texas - A man who neighbors say was about to be evicted from his Fort Worth apartment is now behind bars for fatally shooting a maintenance worker at the complex.

A flower memorial is growing outside the office door at The Marq on West 7th apartments on Arch Adams Lane.

Handwritten messages offer condolences for 30-year-old Carlos Aybar, a maintenance worker who lived at the complex with his young son. He was shot dead on Friday while reportedly trying to protect a woman.

"Everybody considered him a friend. Everybody considered him someone they could call even if he was not on duty," said Kelly Puls, who lives in the complex.

"A couple weeks ago I turned to my husband, and I was like, ‘Carlos is literally like always here, like, does he ever go home?’ Because he was just working so, so much," said tenant Christine Finkle. "It’s just heartbreaking to think he went into work thinking it was a normal and never left."

Neighbors are dealing with shock, as the accused murderer is a tenant.

Fort Worth police said 29-year-old Devin Smith pulled a gun and opened fire, killing Aybar, when the well-known maintenance man tried to diffuse a heated confrontation in the office between Smith and another complex employee. 

Investigators say Smith came to the office to address some type of correspondence he received from the complex.

Neighbors tell FOX 4 it was eviction papers.

Devin Smith (Fort Worth PD)

"I don’t know the specifics of the documents he received through his apartment complex office, but apparently he was there to deal with an issue in regards to the property where he was staying at," said Fort Worth police officer Daniel Segura.

Smith allegedly confronted a female employee in the leasing office.

That female called Aybar for help and during the encounter Smith allegedly shot Aybar multiple times.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minutes later, police approached Smith's apartment.

"It appears officers went and knocked on the door and he came out. As soon as they did that he was taken into custody," said Segura.

A FOX 4 public records search reveals Smith had several past arrests, but none for violent crimes.

Kelly Puls stopped briefly while walking her dog and shared how the entire community is saddened. She says Aybar and his son lived near her apartment for a year and a half until he moved to another unit.

One word described her emotions.

"Heavy. Heavy. Heavy, Heavy, Heavy," she said.

On the day he was killed he did repair work for Puls.

"I was coming into my apartment, and he was going out. He had his little cargo shorts on and black shirt. He had his little cart with his tools in it," said Puls. "He just turned around and said, ‘Hey, I fixed your dishwasher and I fixed something else.’ I can’t remember what he fixed. He said, ‘let me know if something else is going on.’"

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One of Aybar's family members tells FOX 4 they're collectively grieving and hope to share more about the 30-year-old later this week.

"I feel so, so bad for his family and for his son and I can’t imagine," said Finkle. "I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body. He just treated everyone so friendly."

Ones at the complex want people to know he was appreciated.

"Literally, all he did was work. I saw him every single day," Finkle said.

Smith was charged with murder and remains jailed with bond set at $150,000. 

He is expected to appear in court on May 1.