Santa Rosa killer denied parole

Santa Rosa killer William Ernesto Dominguez has been denied parole.

The decision came after a parole board hearing Wednesday at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, where the 32-year-old is serving a nearly 26-year sentence for the 2001 gang-related murder of Oscar Diaz Gutierrez in Santa Rosa.

Dominguez shot Gutierrez point-blank in the face, prosecutors said. They were both 17 at the time.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Dominguez’s violent life has continued even though he’s now confined by prison walls. Since his imprisonment, the man was sentenced to an additional eight years behind bars for stabbing another inmate.

“His actions show he would continue to be an unreasonable risk to the safety of our community if he were released on parole at this time,” Ravitch said in a news release.

Dominguez will next be up for parole in five years. By then, he’ll be 37.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.