The city’s 11th homicide of the year began with a family fight and ended with one man arrested in connection with the stabbing death of his brother.

About 3:30 a.m. Saturday, police found Joel-Lopez Escobar lying unresponsive in a driveway at 807 Dodds Ave. with stab wounds to his stomach. He was taken to Erlanger hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

His brother, Josue-Lopez Escobar, 47, was booked on a charge of criminal homicide, and his nephews, Marvin-Lopez Velazquez and Edwin-Lopez Velazquez — Josue-Lopez Escobar’s sons — were booked on charges of accessory after the fact, said Chattanooga police spokeswoman Lt. Kim Noorbergen.

“They were intoxicated. It was a family thing,” Lt. Noorbergen said. “They just got into an argument and one thing led to another and it turned deadly on them.”

Neighbors told police they heard arguing outside the residence on Dodds Avenue and investigators think the fight started outside and moved inside, Lt. Noorbergen said.

Officers have not yet determined what sparked the fight.

“At this point, we don’t know anything more than we did Saturday,” said Sgt. Bill Phillips, head of the Chattanooga Police Department homicide division. “We’re talking to everybody we can to find out as much as we can.”

See tomorrow’s Times Free Press for complete details.

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