Los Angeles, California - A man suspected of murdering a victim outside a fast-food restaurant in Northridge in 2017 was returned to Los Angeles by members of the FBI’s Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force to face prosecution announced Kristi K. Johnson, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Derek Bryan Dominguez, a convicted felon, was wanted for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a man in California on the evening of December 31, 2017.
According to detectives and a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court in the Central District of California, Dominguez was inside a fast food restaurant in Los Angeles, California, with his girlfriend and two sons when he made eye contact through the restaurant window with another male. The male was outside of the restaurant with the victim and another man.
Dominguez allegedly exited the restaurant and, after a brief verbal altercation involving the man with whom he made eye contact, punched the victim in the face. The victim attempted to defend himself, according to investigators, and punched back before Dominguez allegedly produced a handgun and fired multiple rounds, ultimately killing the victim.
Dominguez fled the scene. Homicide detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department believed he fled to Mexico at the time.
Dominguez was charged with murder by the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, and a state warrant was issued for his arrest on January 26, 2018.
A federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 2, 2020, after Dominguez was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. A wanted poster of Dominguez was posted on the FBI’s website at: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/derek-bryandominguez
Following the arrest, Dominguez was booked into a Los Angeles jail and was expected to have an appearance in state court on the murder charge. The Los Angeles County District Attorney is expected to pursue the homicide prosecution. The United States government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging Dominguez.
The fugitive investigation concerning Dominquez was conducted by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles. The Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles is comprised of FBI Agents and Task Force Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and Los Angeles County Probation.
The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement as well as counterparts in other countries to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.
