A judge may decide on Sept. 30 whether a Joliet man is guilty of first-degree murder of a teen in a trial where the man’s attorney claimed he acted in self-defense.

Closing arguments were held Tuesday in the case against Cristian Ortiz-Arias, 21, who is charged with the 2021 first-degree murder of Diego Arriaga, 17, who was found shot to death in the parking lot of Blue Kangaroo laundromat in Joliet.

Ortiz-Arias was 17 at the time of the incident.

Ortiz-Arias had asked a friend to take him to the laundromat parking lot following a trip to McDonald’s so he could purchase marijuana cartridges from Arriaga, according to prosecutors.

Will County Judge Amy Christiansen will decide whether Ortiz-Arias is guilty of Arriaga’s murder.

Ortiz-Arias’ attorney, Chuck Bretz, has claimed his client was acting in self-defense in the incident and Arriaga was the aggressor who was armed with a gun.

But Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Jacob Kreutzer said Ortiz-Arias never saw Arriaga with a gun during the drug deal.

Kreutzer said Ortiz-Arias “never insinuated he could see any kind of bulge” that indicated Arriaga possessed a firearm.

Kreutzer said Ortiz-Arias never had a gun pointed at him, there were no verbal threats from Arriaga and there were no gunshots fired at Ortiz-Arias.

“The force used was not necessary to avert danger,” Kreutzer said.

He said it was reasonable to infer that Arriaga had his back toward Ortiz-Arias since he suffered three gunshot wounds to the back.

But Bretz said some of the gunshot wounds were to the side of Arriaga’s body.

Kreutzer said Ortiz-Arias never called 911, he had asked two people to discard evidence tying him to the crime and he was fleeing the state when he was apprehended by police.

Kreutzer said those were not the actions of someone who was acting in self-defense.

Bretz said the incident was a “tragic scenario” that involved two “17-year-old kids,” both of whom were armed and meeting to conduct a drug deal in a “deserted parking lot.”

“That’s the world those kids lived in,” Bretz said.

Bretz said Arriaga was a drug dealer who was responsible for turning the incident into a “violent encounter.”

He said prosecutors neglected to mention Arriaga had a firearm, which was found about 28 feet away from where his body was found.

Bretz said Ortiz-Arias should have gone to the police after the shooting but he was a “scared 17-year-old kid” at the time and he was “in way over his head.”

Bretz said the testimonies of the driver and his girlfriend “completely and totally supports” the self-defense claim.

He said the girlfriend, who was in the vehicle with Ortiz-Arias, ducked inside the vehicle after Arriaga reached for his waist because she believed he was armed.

Bretz said Ortiz-Arias made a “split second” decision and shot Arriaga in self-defense.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Capelli objected to the idea that someone in a drug deal would be justified in shooting someone simply because they reached for their waist.

“The streets of Joliet would be running red with blood if that was the case,” Capelli said.