Crime & Safety

Spring Valley Murder-For-Hire Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

Attorney for Domingos Jose Oliveira said his client was "just trying to look out for his daughter" with "help wanted" posters found at Grossmont College.

A Spring Valley man charged with putting out a on his daughter’s boyfriend pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his arraignment in East County Superior Court in El Cajon.

Arrested at his home last week, Domingos Oliveira, 49, was charged with solicitation of murder. He stands accused  of posting a dozen “reward” fliers at Grossmont College in El Cajon, with a photo and the name of his daughter’s boyfriend—a 33-year-old registered sex offender—offering to pay $3,000 “for the body [of the boyfriend] ... dead or alive.”

Oliveira’s daughter, 19, is a student at Grossmont College and was a La Mesa resident when she and her boyfriend reported the threat to La Mesa police several weeks ago.

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Oliveira—5 feet 10 inches tall and 305 pounds—was arrested Friday morning at his   Roadside Place home on suspicion of  violating Penal Code section 653f(b), solicitation for murder, police said.

Oliveira’s attorney, Michael Earle, asked that his client be released from custody, claiming that Oliveira is not a flight risk since he’s a longtime resident of San Diego County and a homeowner.

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But it was learned that Oliveira also has an immigration hold on his record.

“He is a permanent resident,” Earle told reporters after the arraignment (see video in gallery), “and he has been since 1972. He just never took that extra step to become a citizen. But he’s got permanent residency, so the INS came in and put a hold on him.”

Earle described the fliers posted at Grossmont College as “help wanted” posters, not necessarily “wanted” bounty posters.

Judge Charles W. Erwin disagreed with Earle’s assessment and said that because of the nature of the charges, and given Oliveira’s previous criminal record, he would remain in custody with bail set at $250,000.

It also was learned that Oliveira could face another set of charges—stemming from threatening text messages that he allegedly sent his daughter and her boyfriend, who has not been identified. Earle declined to comment.

Earle said he thinks that his client never intended to follow through on the criminal solicitation charge and that it was simply a scare tactic.

“He puts [help] wanted posters out there, but he didn’t have anybody who could actually carry the threat out. He doesn't run with that kind of crowd. He doesn't associate with criminals,” Earle said.

“So as opposed to being on the outside, where the victim was probably completely safe, you put [Oliveira] in custody, where he’s surrounded by nothing but criminals, where everyone in that jail probably knows a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy. So ironically, the victim is safer with my guy out of custody than he is with him in custody.”

Besides the murder-solicitation count, Oliveira is charged with two counts of making a criminal threat and faces 11 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said. A readiness conference was set for April 7 and a preliminary hearing for April 12.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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