SACRAMENTO–Police have arrested a man for the shooting homicide of James A. Watkins outside a Sacramento bar/lounge in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 3.
Isaac Leo Rivera, 22, was arrested for murder and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail. He is being held without the possibility of bail and will face his first court appearance on May 11.
James A. Watkins, 37, was shot during a fight that spilled out into the parking lot of a bar/lounge within the 3400 block of El Camino Avenue in Arden Arcade early Sunday morning. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department received calls about a fight inside the lounge. While en route, deputies also received reports of gunfire in the parking lot.
Though the Sheriff’s office did not specify the location, it was likely outside the Pied Piper lounge, an establishment known to Yelp users as a great “dive bar” that allows smoking, has great bartenders, and karaoke on weekends.
After he was found in the parking lot, Watkins was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and died four days later.
Detectives do not believe that Rivera knew the victim at the time of the altercation.
Lisa Kopochinski is a freelance writer and editor who has written articles on numerous topics from crime, social justice and environmental issues to construction, travel and business profiles. Her work has appeared in the Sacramento Business Journal, Comstock’s, and many trade publications in both the U.S. and Canada. She can be reached at LKopochinski@unitedreporting.com.