‘He’s got peace right now’: Relatives remember Santa Rosa man who died after being shot, left in downtown alley

The man who died over the weekend after he was shot and then left in a downtown Santa Rosa alley has been identified as Dominic Zumsteg, 24, of Santa Rosa, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.

Zumsteg was found by Santa Rosa police in an alley in the 800 block of Fourth Street early Saturday after a physical altercation downtown.

Suffering a single gunshot wound, he was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he later died, police said in a news release.

Family and community members are mourning Zumsteg, whom loved ones described as “an amazing daddy, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend,” according to a GoFundMe campaign that was created online a day after his death.

“He had a heart bigger than life and loved his family fiercely. Life from this day forward will never be the same,” Casey Arents-Gonzalez and Cathy Gagnon, his mom and aunt, wrote in the online fundraiser.

All GoFundMe donations will be put in a trust fund for Zumsteg’s young daughter Lily, according to the site.

“They had an incredible bond. She still does not know her daddy isn't coming home. Her life is forever changed. Her daddy will never again hug her; her daddy won't be at any of her gymnastic recitals or witness any of her other accomplishments,” the campaign added.

The page had raised over $17,000 of its $25,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon.

The investigation into Zumsteg’s death was ongoing Tuesday.

According to Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Brandon Matthies, the deadly incident began Friday evening when Zumsteg and a friend visited a Mendocino Avenue bar in downtown Santa Rosa.

They were later joined by two 17-year-olds, who were denied entry because they are underage, he added.

The group “left, and as they were leaving, some words were exchanged between them and some people in surrounding area,” Matthies said. A witness told officers they heard the argument outside the bar shortly before hearing gunfire.

Investigators determined there was a physical fight between the two groups in the parking lot of an adjacent business, before Zumsteg and his companions got into a car on Healdsburg Avenue to flee the scene.

In the car, one of the 17-year-old passengers began firing a weapon, officials said.

“At some point, when that person was shooting rounds, one of those rounds struck and hit the front passenger,” who was identified as Zumsteg, Matthies said.

Officers found video footage of Fourth Street that showed a tan sedan pulling up to a business, the occupants removing a body and placing it in a nearby alley.

Police have arrested three people, an adult and two teenagers, who are believed to have been with Zumsteg that night.

There are no outstanding suspects, according to Matthies.

On Tuesday, Zumsteg’s grandmother, Sylvia “Sunny” Kee, was emotional as she remembered her son’s son.

He was “a jokester, kind of like his dad,” who saw the world through special, lighthearted eyes. He loved baseball and was good to animals, the grandmother recalled.

“Anyone who loves animals has got a big heart,” said Kee, who moved to Texas four years ago after raising her family in the North Bay.

In his adolescence and early adulthood, Zumsteg had struggles that he was “working to get himself straightened back up and out of,” Kee said, though she did not know specifics.

The day before his death, Zumsteg had appeared in Sonoma County Superior Court for sentencing on a misdemeanor domestic violence count, according to court records. But the sentencing did not take place. It was, instead, rescheduled to April.

Additional details about the incident that preceded the charge and Zumsteg’s subsequent conviction were not available.

“It doesn’t keep me from loving that boy,” Kee said of her grandson’s brush with the law. “He’s not in pain and he’s got peace right now — that’s where I’m coming from.”

She recounted a happier memory of her grandson, when he and his brother — as young teens — came to visit her in Nevada City. That was where Zumsteg had his first taste of country living — playing archery, lighting bonfires, mountain biking, she said.

“They just had a blast being guys,” Kee added, her voice brightening momentarily.

She said her family was still awaiting more details of the events surrounding his death.

The adult suspect, 24-year-old Antonio Boyd of Petaluma, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Both 17-year-olds, one from Rohnert Park and the other from Petaluma, were being detained at Juvenile Hall. One faces possible murder charges, while the other was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder after the fact.

The teenage suspects’ names were not released because of their age.

“How sad? What a stupid action,” Kee said. “What a waste of life.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emily Wilder at 707-521-5337 or emily.wilder@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @vv1lder.