Arrest warrant reveals new details about suspect, deadly daylight shooting in Bridgeport
Jorge Luis Ortiz, who's charged with a deadly shooting on Oct. 12, was previously convicted of a 1989 murder and sentenced to 30 years, according to his arrest warrant.
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The arrest warrant for the man charged in Bridgeport's most recent homicide reveals new details about the deadly daylight shooting and the suspect now in custody.
Jorge Luis Ortiz, 57, of Bridgeport, is charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit in the death of Nelson Manuel Batista, 48, of Bridgeport. But it's not Ortiz's first murder case. He was arrested on that charge in 1989, convicted in 1992 and sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to his warrant. Ortiz served his time and got out. He was not on probation or parole at the time of this shooting, the warrant said.
On Monday, police announced Ortiz's arrest and characterized the violence on Oct. 12 as a road rage incident. His warrant clarifies what happened just before 9 a.m. at the intersection of Cottage Street and Park Avenue.
According to Ortiz's warrant, cameras at nearby apartments recorded Ortiz walking south on Park Avenue with a woman who "appears to be trying to walk away from Ortiz." Batista is driving his SUV and turns right from Park Avenue onto Cottage Street, the warrant said, which is when "Ortiz puts his hands on the passenger side of the vehicle." Batista stops, gets out and walks over to Ortiz who, "is already in a fighting stance," and punches Batista in the head, according to the warrant. Both men fall to the ground where the warrant said they scuffle for about 45 seconds and Batista is shot in the chest.
A driver's dash cam captured the moments after that, including Ortiz hitting Batista in the head with a gun before he ran off. That video was turned over to police and later posted on Facebook and was credited with police making an arrest in the case within a week.
A member of the Bridgeport Task Force recognized Ortiz in the video and identified him as someone police had dealt with as recently as March. That's when Ortiz was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, first-time offense, per court records.
The driver who recorded the dash cam video also posted the footage on Facebook and according to Ortiz's warrant, that led someone who knows Ortiz to reach out to police and confirm his identity.
Police already had a warrant for his arrest when patrol officers spotted Ortiz walking on the city's East Side Sunday night. Police said Ortiz ran but was quickly caught and taken into custody on a $2.5 million bond.
At Ortiz's arraignment Monday afternoon, the judge doubled the bond to $5 million and implemented a 30% cash requirement. Ortiz's next court appearance is set for Nov. 3.
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