Tampa man shot his neighbor to death after argument, police say

Chris Tisch, Tampa Bay Times
·1 min read

A Tampa man is facing a first-degree murder charge after police said he shot his neighbor to death Monday evening.

Tampa police said Nelson Espinal, 37, called 911 at abut 5:45 p.m. Monday and said he had shot his neighbor, who lived next door to him in the 10000 block of North Central Avenue.

Police arrived and found the neighbor lying in his front yard about 50 feet from the fenced property line that separates the yards, police said. Officers took Espinal in for questioning, during which he said he and his neighbor had been having an ongoing dispute and that his neighbor had shot at his fence on Monday, police said.

Espinal said he warned his neighbor not to shoot his fence, which he also had done in the past. They neighbor responded by holding up his two middle fingers, police said Espinal told them.

Espinal said he then “lost it” and shot the neighbor multiple times, police said.

Espinal said he then walked back into his home, put the gun into a case, put it on a couch, called 911 and went outside to wait for police.

In addition to the murder charge, he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was being held in jail Tuesday without bail,

The victim’s name was not immediately released.

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