Prosecutors declined to file charges today against a 44-year-old man arrested over the weekend for allegedly gunning down a Sage woman and trying to kill a man at her property, making his release from jail imminent. David Gonzales Douglas of Lake Elsinore was booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on Sunday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Douglas has been held without bail. However, with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office’s decision to refrain from filing a criminal complaint, he was expected to be released from custody Wednesday afternoon.
“Further investigation is underway in this case,” D.A.’s office spokeswoman Brooke Beare told City News Service. No other details were provided regarding the decision, including what gaps there may have been in the sheriff’s investigation. There was no immediate word on whether Central Homicide Unit detectives planned to resubmit their case in the near future, offering prosecutors further evidence to validate a complaint. According to sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Ramirez, on Saturday afternoon, Douglas allegedly went to the home of 28-year-old Autumn Wilkins in the 42200 block of Alexander Drive, near Sage Road, armed with a gun.
There was an unspecified confrontation at the property, culminating in the suspect allegedly killing Wilkins and trying to shoot a man at the location, Ramirez said. The man, whose identity was not released, escaped injury. Ramirez said patrol deputies were called to the residence and found Wilkins deceased, at which point Central Homicide Unit detectives took over. On Sunday, they identified Douglas as the alleged assailant, and he was tracked to a business in the area of Buena Vista Street and Florida Avenue in Hemet, where he was taken into custody without incident that night, according to the sheriff’s spokesman. A possible motive for the attack was not provided. Background information on Douglas also was unavailable.
