A South Florida man on Thursday lashed out at the widow of a man he killed in 2015 following an argument over dog feces during a hearing to face a life sentence.
Omar Rodriguez, 75, yelled at Lisette Rey, the wife of Jose Rey, whom Rodriguez shot and killed about 10 years ago following an argument over Rey’s dog defecating in Rodriguez’s son’s yard.
“The coward is your husband,” Rodriguez yelled in court. “That’s why I killed him! … He was crying like a baby.”
Rodriguez’s attorney, Bruce Lehr, acknowledged the emotional outburst in court in a phone interview with NBC News on Friday.
“This started with the community coming together to hate the defendant in this case and then the hatred on all sides boiled over and led to an unfortunate death,” Lehr said.
He continued, “Emotions continue to run deep and flared up during the sentencing. … I hope everyone will not forget the situation.”
Rodriguez’s comments were made while Lysette Ray was giving her statement, according to NBC South Florida. Rodriguez, who was handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, was quickly removed from the courtroom by multiple officers after his tirade.
Ray told NBC South Florida that she had mixed feelings about Rodriguez’s sentence and didn’t hear everything he said.
“I wasn’t listening to exactly what he was saying. I was ignoring what he was saying,” she said. “I was just reading my own mind. His words are irrelevant. He’s irrelevant to my life right now. He’s the algae in the pond.”
Ray said he wanted Rodriguez to receive the death penalty.
“At the end of the day, Mr. Rodriguez will be able to see his family. His family will be able to visit him. I will never see my husband again.”
Rodriguez was convicted by a jury in May of second-degree murder and aggravated assault in the June 2015 shooting, NBC South Florida reported. The assault charge stemmed from Rodriguez threatening Ray’s wife.
Jose Rey was walking his dog home in Miami’s Kendall neighborhood when the dog tried to defecate in Rodriguez’s son’s yard, Rodriguez said. Neighbors told police the two men began arguing loudly and Rodriguez threatened to return and fight them, the outlet reported.
Police said Rodriguez shot Ray, who died from his injuries more than a week later.
After the shooting, Rodriguez sought immunity under Florida’s “self-defense” law, but a judge ruled in 2021 that Rodriguez could not be considered to have acted in self-defense.
At trial, Rodriguez claimed Ray had threatened his life with a knife, but prosecutors argued Rodriguez had pulled a knife at the scene and tried to stab Ray in the hand, NBC South Florida reported.
Neighbors testified in 2021 and earlier this year, describing Rodriguez as confrontational and a “crazy neighbor,” according to the report.
