FORT PIERCE − Family disputes of a variety of natures, particularly incidents involving towed vehicles, are thought to be the motive behind a 2022 homicide in which a man is accused of fatally shooting his 78-year-old father, according to Fort Pierce Police on June 20.
A clerk at a salvage yard where Jorge Fuentes Sr. reportedly junked vehicles belonging to his son, Jorge Fuentes Jr., 31, told police he heard the younger Fuentes tell his brother, “I’m going to handle this myself. He is going to get one for every car, and afterward, we are leaving the country.”
According to records, the salvage yard remark happened May 6, 2022 — the same day investigators believe Fuentes Sr. was fatally shot.
These and other details were revealed in records and by police June 20, two days after the arrest of Fuentes Jr. on a murder charge in connection with the death of his father, a Vietnam veteran.
“From our understanding, there’s been ongoing family disputes of many different natures. But in this particular case, I think what pushed it over the edge was we believe the father disposed of some of the son’s vehicles and he got upset about that,” Police Maj. Eric Chan said. “There’s several alleged disputes which lead to the shooting.”
Police about 1:22 p.m. May 6, 2022, went to a home in the 1200 block of Wyoming Avenue, and found Fuentes Sr. inside with blood and 9mm cartridge casings around him. The front door was open.
A 911 caller reported seeing a man with a handgun exit the home alone after hearing shots. That man got in the driver’s side of a “mini vehicle” with another man and a woman before the vehicle drove west, the witness said. The caller reported he’s “seen the suspect there before,” records show.
One person who knew Fuentes Sr. well told police, “Mr. Fuentes would vent to him about the domestic issues he was having with his (two family members, particularly Fuentes Jr.),” records state.
Fuentes Sr. was twice married and had children with each wife, family has said.
Police learned that on the day of the slaying, a Fort Pierce Police officer familiar with the Fuentes family got a call from Fuentes Jr. about 10:26 a.m. That officer returned the call about 10:40 a.m., and Fuentes Jr. said his father had several of his vehicles removed from the Wyoming Avenue home and taken to 2nd Chance Salvage on Angle Road when the sons and wife moved out.
That officer noted he “was very familiar with the troubled family dynamic and history of domestic violence between Jorge (Fuentes) Sr. and his sons,” records state.
The officer reported Fuentes Jr. told him several vehicles already were destroyed, though a black Cadillac was there and it was special to him. He asked the officer how he could get it back, and the officer suggested going to the junkyard to see if they would hold off on destroying it “while he seeks to regain possession of the car via legal means,” records state.
At the salvage yard, the business owner told police Fuentes Jr. was upset about a black Cadillac junked in April 2022 by his father.
The owner told police that on May 6, 2022, Fuentes Jr. and his brother came in and asked that the Cadillac “‘not be junked,’” though the owner reported “nothing could be done in regard to returning the vehicle,” records state.
Fuentes Jr. and his brother got in a green Fiat 500 at the salvage yard about 1:13 p.m., records state.
A green Fiat 500 is seen on surveillance video westbound on Wyoming Avenue just before the first 911 call at 1:22 p.m, records show. Police reported it’s about a 9-minute drive from the salvage yard to the Wyoming Avenue home.
Police reported through “surveillance footage, GPS location pings from phone extracted data, and eyewitness testimonies” they developed a timeline and the “cumulative evidence” puts Fuentes Jr. and others and the green Fiat 500 at the Wyoming Avenue address before the homicide and “milliseconds” after the homicide.
Police in August 2022 questioned Fuentes Jr., who said he was staying in Jupiter during the week of the homicide, records state. He then requested a lawyer.
Asked whether additional arrests could be coming, Chan said the investigation is ongoing.
Chan said investigators have not recovered the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: New details in slaying arrest: Towed vehicles, family strains, alleged abuse
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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