Grandfather gunned down in road rage attack days after burying Air Force son; convicted murderer charged
A Connecticut man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 1992 felony murder conviction has been arrested again in connection with a road rage shooting that left a grandfather dead in Bridgeport, according to city police.
Jorge "George" Ortiz, 57, was arrested after a brief foot chase Monday to end a week-long manhunt and charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol and carrying a pistol without a permit, Bridgeport police said in a statement.
He is accused of gunning down 48-year-old Nelson Batista, a grandfather who recently laid his 25-year-old Air Force airman son to rest, in a 9 a.m. road rage incident on Oct. 12, according to a police affidavit.
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Ortiz and Batista were strangers, according to Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter.
"This was a random act," he told reporters at a news briefing announcing the arrest — just hours before Batista's funeral.
Surveillance video shows a man identified as Ortiz following a woman down Park Avenue as the victim turned his SUV down a side street, according to the affidavit. Ortiz allegedly slapped his hands on the side of the car, prompting the driver to stop and get out.
Ortiz allegedly punched the victim first, and they fell to the ground in a scuffle before surveillance video showed them struggling for control of a handgun, according to the affidavit. The city's ShotSpotter program captured at least two gunshots, with the medical examiner later determining one struck Batista in the chest.
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He died at the hospital.
Police credited tips from the community for Ortiz's capture after a woman recorded some of the incident on cellphone video and other witnesses helped identify him.
Video taken from inside a vehicle captured some of the scuffle, including the attacker getting up, striking Batista in the head with the butt of a pistol and taking off as the victim lies motionless in the street.
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A detective recognized Ortiz from prior encounters, including one in March, according to the affidavit. He had been arrested on misdemeanor drug charges in a case that is still pending. Police also received a tip from a man who also said he could identify Ortiz as the man in the photo.
Court records show Ortiz received a 30-year sentence in 1992 for felony murder. He was off parole at the time of Batista's death.
Batista's son's funeral was held on Oct. 3 in Louisiana, according to an online obituary.
Batista was an avid fan of Major League Baseball and the NFL, according to his own obituary, and especially fond of the New York Yankees. He was a father of six and grandfather of three.