A Bronx man, aged 46, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after fatally stabbing his neighbor over a parking dispute. The tragic incident left the teenage victim dying in his father’s arms, according to prosecutors’ statements on Saturday.
Vladimir Lopez German accepted a plea deal for first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of 19-year-old Dominic Aguilera. The stabbing occurred on April 18, 2024, outside their shared apartment building in Morris Heights, as reported by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. Aguilera was stabbed in the heart during the altercation.
According to police, German, who works as an Uber driver, became enraged when Aguilera double-parked his car, blocking German’s vehicle. Despite Aguilera moving his car, the situation escalated, resulting in German attacking the young man with a knife.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, German’s sentence is just three years less than Aguilera’s age, in addition to serving five years of probation following his prison term.
Authorities apprehended German approximately 24 hours after the fatal incident on Featherbed Lane near Inwood Avenue.
The altercation began when Aguilera and his father, Jose Cruz, were preparing to leave for work around 8:20 a.m. German knocked on their door, demanding Aguilera move his car so that he could drive to his own job.
Aguilera went downstairs and moved his silver Mercedes sedan a few feet away, but German was still enraged, the father told the Daily News at the time.
German yelled at Aguilera and stabbed him across the chest — penetrating his heart — said Cruz, 52. The bleeding youth staggered 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.”
Paramedics rushed Aguilera to Lincoln Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead.
The victim’s dad said he was haunted by Aguilera’s last words.
“Dad, don’t let me die,” he recalled his son saying.
German jumped into his sedan and sped off before law enforcement arrived. Witnesses quickly identified him as the killer to police, who fanned out looking for him.
Cops charged German with murder, manslaughter and weapons possession.
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.”
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.”
Reinoso’s husband and co-worker, Omar Reyes, said German 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,” Reyes said. “Now it’s all gone for him over a parking spot.”
“They were very peaceful. I don’t know what happened,” Reinoso said about German and Aguilera, who were both customers at the deli. “You lose your patience just like that.”
