BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The 17-year-old identified himself as one of three gunmen who fired shots that killed a man in a vehicle parked at the Central Cali Market.
Interviewed by police in 2020, Brandon Michael Billingsley said he heard the man had a gun — but never saw one. He claimed he fired two rounds into the driver’s side door in self-defense, according to court documents.
As he wrote a letter apologizing to the victim’s family, Billingsley tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, documents said. Detectives stopped him; he was uninjured.
Billingsley, now 22, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, gang participation and other crimes. A preliminary hearing is scheduled next month.
He is the only suspect in the shooting death of Raul Dominguez, 38, who hasn’t gone to trial.
The other two — Mark Milner and Parrish Stinson — were found guilty of murder and other crimes and are set for sentencing Jan. 21.
The shooting happened around 9 p.m. on May 31, 2020, in the parking lot of the market at 801 E. California Ave.
Surveillance video shows Dominguez pull into the market and argue with a crowd outside the store, according to police reports. He continues arguing after getting out of the vehicle. Witnesses said he used racial slurs.
Several people threw items at Dominguez and he retreated to his vehicle, where he was assaulted by a crowd, according to the documents. Three others who weren’t involved in the beating positioned themselves nearby and fired.
Dominguez, wounded, managed to drive his SUV a few blocks. Police found him dead in the driver’s seat, the SUV facing west in the eastbound lanes of East California Avenue.
The shooters were identified from the video as Milner, Stinson and Billingsley, documents said.
Interviewed on June 23, 2020, Billingsley said he fired a .22-caliber revolver which he afterward gave to someone to get rid of, according to the documents.
He told detectives he’s a member of the East Side Crips street gang. He said he was jumped in when he was 15.
Milner and Stinson are also members of the East Side Crips.
In shooting Dominguez, the East Side Crips were “representing and defending their territory,” Billingsley said according to the reports.
Detectives gave him an opportunity to write a letter to Dominguez’s family, during which he made the stab attempt.
The letter he wrote reads in part, “I’m so sorry I hope you can forgive me for what I did. I don’t wanna (sic) sit in jail for life. Please forgive me for what I did. I swear I will change my whole life around if you give me one more chance. I’m so sorry for what I did forgive me please.”