Man slain over parking
Victim’s dad says son died in his arms after Bronx dispute
A 19-year-old Bronxite died in his father’s arms after an enraged neighbor stabbed him in the heart just because of a fight over parking, the victim’s devastated dad told the Daily News.
Dominic Aguilera and his father Jose Cruz were getting ready to leave for work together when a downstairs neighbor in their apartment building knocked on their door to demand Aguilera move his vehicle, which was double parked on Inwood Ave. near Featherbed Lane and blocking the attacker’s car, Cruz said.
Aguilera went downstairs and moved his silver Mercedes sedan a few feet away, but the attacker, a 45-year-old Uber driver, was still enraged, the father continued.
The neighbor yelled at Aguilera and stabbed him across the chest — penetrating his heart — said Cruz, 52. The bleeding youth staggered at 8:23 a.m. into a nearby Morris Heights deli, where his father rushed to join him.
“I saw my son die. He passed away in my arms,” said the dad, who employed Aguilera at his Mount Vernon auto body shop. “Our whole family is in shock. We never expected anything like this.”
Double parking in the area happens all the time, said the manager of the deli where Aguilera died.
“People double-park cars and block people who are legally parked, so when you want to get out, you can’t get out,” Wendy Reinoso said. “That’s what happened here.”
The victim’s brother, who gave his name as Noer, was stunned at how the dispute spiraled out of control.
“It was over a parking spot,” he said. “My brother died over a parking spot.
“My brother is not a bad kid,” the sibling added.
Reinoso recalled seeing Aguilera staggering into her deli covered in blood.
“When the kid came in, he was bleeding and then I called 911,” she said. “He was bleeding a lot.”
Reinoso said the young man died on the floor of her bodega as workers applied pressure to his wound.
“He then fell down on the floor,” Reinoso told The News as she pointed to the spot where Aguilera collapsed. “We hold the blood, but he passed right there.”
Paramedics rushed Aguilera to Lincoln Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead, according to police.
The killer sped off in a dark-colored sedan and was still at large as of Thursday evening, cops said.
Both the stabber and his victim were regulars at the Inwood Ave. bodega where Aguilera died.
Reinoso’s husband and co-worker, Omar Reyes, said the attacker had been heading to work when he found his vehicle blocked by Aguilera’s car.
“The other guy had to go to work. He works as a … driver. I know he works very hard for his family,” said Reyes. “Now it’s all gone for him over a parking spot.”
Reinoso said both men were good customers who had never caused any trouble at her deli.
“They were very peaceful. I don’t know what happened,” she said. “You lose your patience just like that.”
The senseless killing has left her heartbroken, Reinoso said.
“[Aguilera] was one of my kids’ age. My heart is broken today.”
The victim’s dad was haunted by Aguilera’s last words.
“Dad, don’t let me die,” he recalled the youth saying.