SAN BERNARDINO – A bar fight that led to the shooting death of a 29-year-old man on Monday resulted in the arrest of a suspect two days later.
Randy Murillo, 33, of San Bernardino, was arrested when San Bernardino Police Department homicide investigators linked him to the shooting of James Wilkins.
Shortly before 9 p.m. at the Office Bar at 123 North E Street, police were summoned by a “hold up” alarm. When officers arrived, they found Wilkins down on the sidewalk along the east side of the street.
He was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to reports. When medical personnel responded, he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Investigators eventually determined there had been a bar fight that escalated to the shooting.
Original reports stated that police had responded to a possible armed robbery. When they arrived, they found that three shots were reportedly fired in front of the bar. Wilkins, who was struck by the gunfire, ran around the corner, grabbed onto the fence and collapsed, according to witnesses.
Murillo was eventually determined to be the suspected shooter in a case that marked the 39th homicide in San Bernardino for 2016, according to information provided by authorities.
It was the first in a rash of killings that took place this week, including a triple murder that occurred outside a liquor store on Tuesday night in which two men and a nine-year-old boy lost their lives.
One hour earlier, an unidentified man was stabbed to death.
Another killing, which was ruled as self-defense by police, brought the total to six deaths in less than a week, according to police.
Police said Murillo’s case is being reviewed by the District Attorney.
