An Osceola deputy is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly accessed police databases to help his lifelong friend, who was accused of having sex with a minor just weeks before he fled to Mexico.
Arturo Dominguez was arrested on Wednesday, May 31, after a multi-week investigation into his activities while employed with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
On May 1, 2023, a complaint was drafted against Dominguez alleging he had used his position as a law enforcement officer to access the Driver And Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) to research and inform a suspect in an ongoing investigation.
That suspect was identified as Omar Ayala by the detective investigating his case. According to that detective, he began his investigation into Ayala on April 12, 2023 after the mother of a minor victim informed police that the victim had a sexual relationship with Ayala. After a week, a warrant was issued for Ayala’s arrest on April 19, 2023.
That warrant was entered into the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC) the next day, April 20, 2023.
After the warrant was entered, a delayed hit was received for Ayala, showing that someone from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office had run Ayala’s name and date of birth. Upon further investigation, additional hits were discovered on Ayala by name, date of birth, and vehicle tag number.
The detective conducting the investigation reached out to the sheriff’s office and asked to speak with whomever ran Ayala’s information, or had contact with him. According to court records, Dominguez spoke with the detective and told him that he had run Ayala’s information as part of a traffic stop he had conducted. Dominguez could not provide the detective with either Ayala’s tag number or driver’s license number.
A check through the sheriff’s office AVAIL system, which includes body-worn and in-car camera records, did not show any videos of Dominguez conducting a traffic stop on the morning of April 20, 2023.
Over the course of the investigation, the detective came to learn that Ayala’s name had been run through police databases multiple times beginning on April 13, shortly after the investigation into Ayala began.
During an interview with Ayala’s mother, the detective learned that Ayala and Dominguez were “lifelong friends.” It was also determined that on the day the investigation began, the victim notified Ayala that he was being investigated by law enforcement authorities.
Dominguez’s call records were obtained through a search warrant and showed that between April 1 and May 3, a total of 45 calls were shared between Dominguez and Ayala, including 37 made between April 15 and April 20. On April 20, the day the warrant was entered into the FCIC police database, the two men shared 19 calls together.
After April 20, eight more calls were made between the two men on May 1 before all communication stopped.
During a recorded interview with Dominguez on May 16, the deputy told detectives that ran Ayala’s name because he had gone missing in March. Dominguez told authorities that he was “worried” and believed that if he queried Ayala, he would “come up as deceased.”
Dominguez admitted to making up the story about the traffic stop, that he had found a different Omar Ayala from Kissimmee to provide to the detective, and that “it was stupid.” He told police that he had not spoken with the Omar Ayala under investigation since February, or the middle of March.
Dominguez doubled down on his statements before he was confronted with his call detail records. Afterwards, he told police that in his conversations with the suspect, Ayala told him he needed to “get going.” He told authorities that he had spoken with his brother regarding the matter, who told him that law enforcement was aware of the inappropriate relationship between Ayala and the minor.
Dominguez stated that in his conversations with Ayala leading up to the issuance of the warrant, he tried to reassure Ayala that there were “no warrants out for him” and that he needed “not to freak out.” Dominguez says that Ayala talked about fleeing to Mexico immediately after he was notified by the victim that the police were investigating their relationship. He allegedly admitted to Dominguez that he had been in a relationship with the girl when she was a minor, that it was sexual, and that he needed to commit suicide or flee the country as “his only alternatives.”
Dominguez admitted to having additional conversations with Ayala through a different phone number. He stated the two had mostly been communicating through “Xbox chat” and surmised that Ayala was somewhere in Mexico City.
Dominguez denied providing financial assistance to Ayala to help him flee the country, but did advise that he should “run” because he did not want him to commit suicide. When asked why he withheld the information from authorities, he answered that Ayala was “like a brother” to him. When asked if he chose his “brother” over his obligations as a law enforcement officer, he told police “I guess I did.”
Text records obtained by police show that on April 30, Dominguez texted an individual that Ayala was “spooked out on answering anyone,” was “doing okay,” and was “currently in Mexico City.” He indicated that he would provide Ayala’s new number so that the party could “get in touch with” him as soon as possible.
An affidavit and arrest warrant were issued for Dominguez a short time thereafter. He faces charges of unauthorized access of computer and devices, official misconduct by obstructing, disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information, and accessory after the fact. He was released on June 1 after posting bail.