Nearly nine years after authorities said a dispute over dog poop ended with a Kendall man fatally shooting his neighbor, the alleged gunman is finally on trial.
Omar Rodriguez, now 74, is facing a murder charge in the June 2015 shooting of neighbor Jose Rey.
According to police, Rey was walking his dog home in his Kendall neighborhood when Rodriguez said Rey's dog was attempting to defecate in Rodriguez's son's yard.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Neighbors told police that the two men began arguing loudly and Rodriguez told police that Rey threatened to return and fight him.
At some point, police said Rodriguez shot Rey, who died from his injuries more than a week later.
After the shooting, Rodriguez requested immunity under Florida's so-called "Stand Your Ground" law, but in 2021 a judge ruled he didn't believe Rodriguez acted in self-defense.
Local
In the 2021 proceedings, Rodriguez claimed Rey was threatening his life with a knife, but prosecutors said Rodriguez planted the knife at the scene and tried to jam it inside Rey’s hand.
Now a jury will decide if he's guilty of Rey's murder.
Neighbors testified in 2021 and again this week, describing Rodriguez as confrontational and the "crazy neighbor."
"I heard someone yell what sounded like right before the gunshots, a woman's voice yelling 'he's crazy, he's crazy' and then pa-pa-pa, so that’s why it kind of sounded like fireworks," one neighbor testified.
