Alexandria police say Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, 33, fatally gunned down Karla Dominguez outside her apartment in the early morning hours July 29
A Virginia man who was accused of raping a woman in October but released from jail over concerns surrounding COVID-19, has shot dead his accuser.
Alexandria police say Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, 33, fatally gunned down Karla Dominguez outside her apartment on July 29. The Venezuelan native was found dead outside her home with multiple gunshot wounds at around 6.20am.
Bouaichi had been in jail since October after Dominguez accused him of raping her, but he was released in April on bail, amid fears he could contract coroanvirus.
He shot his accuser just a few months later.
Police issued a video news release asking for the public’s help finding him after the attack, calling him ‘armed and dangerous,’ the Washington Post reports.
Two days later, federal marshals and police found Bouaichi in Prince George‘s County and chased him, causing the suspect to crash. Authorities share that the found Bouaichi with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
As of Thursday, he was listed as being in grave condition. He also now has a murder charge.
Bouaichi was indicted on rape, strangulation and abduction charges after Dominguez testified that he sexually abused her during a violent incident last October.
Last December, Dominguez testified that she was sexually abused by Bouaichi during a violent incident in October
He was ordered in jail without bond, with his next court appearance scheduled for March 30.
Lawyers for Bouaichi claimed that the pair were boyfriend and girlfriend and were preparing to use that in their defense in court.
But when the pandemic hit, Bouaichi’s lawyer argued that the virus was a danger to both them and to their client as he awaited trial.
On April 9, Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on $25,000, on the condition he only leave his home in Maryland to meet with lawyers or pretrials services officials.
Alexandria prosecutors had argued against the release.
In their motion’s, Bouaichi’s lawyers argued that ‘social distancing and proper disinfecting measures are impossible while incarcerated… Simply put, the risk of contracting Covid-19 in a jail is exceedingly obvious.’
Manuel Leiva and Frank Salvato, his lawyers, also said that they were at risk while visiting their client in jail. They added that the contact visit would ‘also expose themselves to contaminated air and surfaces.’
Pertaining to the killing, the lawyers said that they were ‘certainly saddened by the tragedy both families have suffered here.’
They added that they ‘were looking forward to trial. Unfortunately the pandemic continued the trial date by several months and we didn’t get the chance to put forth our case.’
Bouaichi did have another run in with the law prior to the shooting, when in May he was arrested by Greenbelt police after they received a holdup alarm at a Wendy’s restaurant.
Responding officers say Bouaichi was acting strangely in the drive-thru and became uncooperative with police.
He was arrested and charged with two count of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, harming a law enforcement dog, resisting arrest, driving while intoxicated and multiple traffic charges.
He was released from Maryland jail on May 11, with Alexandria officials saying that they would have revoked his bond had they known about the incident.
A GoFundMe was made for Dominguez, whose entire family lives in Venezuela.
Source: Daily Mail
