Police reject self-defense claim, charges man with death of 16-year-old

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Police rejected a man’s claim of self-defense after the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in late May.

Homicide detectives began investigating the May 26th fatal shooting of an as yet unidentified man in the parking lot of Longwood at Southern Hills Apartments located at 371 Wallace Road.

MNPD identified Jorge Dominguez, 43, who lives in the apartment complex, as the man who committed the fatal shooting. Dominguez was booked Wednesday night on two unrelated felony aggravated assault warrants and a vandalism charge for firing a shot into the window of a Murfreesboro Pike convenience market on April 16th after a clerk refused to sell him alcohol due to his lack of identification.

The investigation revealed that a dispute over clothing involving four women, two aligned with the deceased and two aligned with Dominguez, culminated with gunfire in the apartment complex parking lot.

Police identified the victim on Tuesday to be 16-year-old Eliel Arnoldo Oritz.

Officials said Dominguez claimed he shot the victim only after guns were pointed at him. After the shooting, Dominguez fled the apartment complex and was soon located by TITANS detectives at a Briley Parkway motel.

Inside his car, police recovered five ounces of meth, a pound of marijuana, three semi-automatic pistols, and a rifle.

Police said they determined that a self-defense claim for the death of Ortiz was without merit and swore out a warrant charging Dominguez with criminal homicide Wednesday.

Dominguez received federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Dominguez is now jailed in place of $90,000 bond on the aggravated assault and vandalism charges from the April incident.

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