Joe Yates
A Florida man has been handed life in prison for the murder of a neighbor who he claims let his dog poo on his son's garden.
Omar Rodriguez was sentenced after he was found guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated assault for the shooting of Jose Rey almost 10 years ago.
Rodriguez, who has already served nine years behind bars, was in his mid-60s when he opted to kill the 52-year-old in June 2015 after he said he caught Rey's dog pooing on Rodriguez's son's yard.
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Neighbors told officers that that they had heard both men shouting at each other. Rodriguez claimed to police that Jose then threatened that he would return to fight him.
Jose walked home to leave his dog and is believed to have continued walking with his wife when the couple were confronted by a now-shirtless Rodriguez, the Miami Herald reports.
Rodriguez unloaded three bullets into Jose before threatening his wife Lissette Rey, who ran to her husband's aid. Tragically, Rey died of his injuries in the weeks that followed.
Now, during the hearing that took place in August Lissette Rey read her victim's impact statement to the court she urged the Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Milton Hirsch to bring the heaviest punishment down on Rodriguez.
“I beg Your Honor, the harshest sentence imposed to the coward, the murderer,” she said.
However, she was interrupted by Rodriguez who shouted out in court: “The coward was your husband.
“That’s why I killed him. He cried like a baby.”
Rodriguez was then dragged out of the courtroom as Rey continued her statement, with the killer's voice bellowing through the halls.
Rey went on: “I wish though the death sentence would have been on the table, but at the end of the day, Mr. Rodriguez will continue to see his family, they will be able to see him, I’ll never get to see my husband again.
“I wasn’t listening to exactly to what he was saying, I was tuning him out, I was just reading my thoughts. His words are irrelevant. He is irrelevant in my life right now. He’s pond scum.”
With the death penalty having been removed by the jury, the 75-year-old was issued life behind bars with a minimum of 25 years - meaning he will likely die in prison.
“I pray he spends the rest of his pitiful existence in prison,” she added.
“He’s a narcissistic piece of s***.”
During the trial it was also heard how Rodriguez had attempted to plant a knife on Rey claiming he threatened him with it and that he acted in self-defense.