Victor Dominguez Released From Jail; No Charges Filed in Beaumont Killing

Prosecutors declined to file charges today against a man arrested on suspicion of murder in a fatal shooting in Beaumont, and he was released from custody.

Victor Steve Dominguez, 42, of Beaumont was arrested Tuesday night in connection with the slaying of 40-year-old Mario Lara, also of Beaumont.

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“The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office elected not to file charges at this time,” Beaumont police spokesman Sean Thuilliez told City News Service. “We will be conducting further investigation.”

D.A.’s Office spokesman John Hall declined to specify why the case was kicked back to investigators, and Thuilliez would not disclose the reasons.

The police department released a statement saying, “The Beaumont Police Department is conducting further investigation into the homicide....The investigation is currently on-going and is being investigated by the Beaumont Police Department. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the on-duty Watch Commander of the Beaumont Police Department at (951) 769-8500. Information can also be sent to crimetips@beaumontpd.org or reported anonymously to WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME.”

Dominguez had been held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. Under state law, a jail detainee is constitutionally entitled to be arraigned within 48 hours of commitment, with only a few exceptions. Dominguez’s 48-hour holding period expired today.

According to Thuilliez, officers were called about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday to the 300 block of Grace Avenue to investigate reports of shots fired and found Lara lying in an alleyway, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

He was transported to San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning, where he was pronounced dead 45 minutes later.

Thuilliez did not disclose a possible motive for the attack or what led detectives to identify Dominguez as the suspect and track him down within hours in Imperial County, where he was arrested without incident.

--City News Service, with additional reporting by Patch; Booking photo courtesy Beaumont Police Department

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