Family, friends remember Las Vegas shooting victim as a light to others

Steve Marcus

A photo of Jonet Dominguez and his wife Angela is shown during a vigil for Dominguez at Awaken Christian Church in Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Dominguez, co-owner of All In Towing, was fatally shot at the business on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Friday, January 13, 2023 | 11:21 p.m

Angela Dominguez was feeling grateful Friday night as she stood surrounded by a crowd of friends and family gathered to mourn her husband and celebrate the man he was — a man they remembered as deeply loyal and a light to others. .

Jonet Dominguez, who was shot and killed this week at the Las Vegas towing company where he worked, was the kind of person whose commute home would take hours longer than it should have — because he would stop for help anyone who needed it, his wife. said. He was 43.

“Man, he lived life to the fullest,” Angela Dominguez said Friday night during a vigil at her and her husband’s church, Awaken Las Vegas, in the southwest Valley.

Gathered around tables of beans, flowers and framed photos of a smiling Jonet Dominguez, dozens of mourners alternated between crying and laughing as they prayed together, held candles above their heads and listened to a recording of their fallen friend — the which featured him singing along to a song of worship and thanksgiving to God for the blessings in his life.

Bathed in candlelight, many took the microphone to mourn the loss of Dominguez, but also to celebrate the life he led. A woman read a poem by her teenage daughter honoring Dominguez, while his oldest son spoke about his father’s final moments.

“A lot of people are hurting and this is to help others heal,” Jonet Dominguez’s older brother, Jonathan Dominguez, said after the vigil. “And hopefully that helps — at least a start.”

Jonet Dominguez was remembered as a loving friend, husband and father, as well as an avid community supporter.

“When he walked in the room, he lit up the room,” said his friend, John Harp.

Many attendees wore sweatshirts or T-shirts bearing the name of a nonprofit they said he founded, OMK 4 the Streets. The organization distributes donations, food and other assistance to people experiencing homelessness and others who may be in need, they said.

Angela Dominguez, who said she and Jonet Dominguez had 10 children together, believes her husband was an example for others to be kind and love one another.

Jonathan Dominguez echoed the sentiment.

“Just be happy,” said Jonathan Dominguez, when asked what his brother would say to those mourning. “Don’t take that in a bad way.”

Metro police arrested Jaton Terrell Herder, 27, on Tuesday in connection with the slaying of Jonet Dominguez. Herder is accused of trying to get a car at the towing company north of the Las Vegas Strip, which is owned by Dominguez’s family members, then shooting Dominguez when he refused the request because Herder lacked the proper documentation.

All Jonet Dominguez wanted was to bring people closer to God, his brother said, and if even one person was encouraged to that end because of his life and death, he believes it would be worth it.

“They just feel a sense of peace that he’s with God,” Brandon Kagel, who conducted the vigil Friday, told the crowd.