Miguel Rivera-Dominguez received a 23-year prison sentence Friday for fatally shooting a sleeping passenger on a King County Metro bus in White Center in 2023.
Judge Brian McDonald handed down the 280-month sentence to Rivera-Dominguez, now 19, who was 17 at the time of the crime but charged as an adult. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in July.
Surveillance video captured Rivera-Dominguez shooting 21-year-old Marcel Wagner multiple times at point-blank range as Wagner appeared to sleep in the back of the bus. Prosecutors described the October 3rd incident as a “senseless execution of a total stranger.”
After the shooting, video shows Rivera-Dominguez demanding the bus driver open the door, then firing twice into the door before fleeing. Prosecutors said he fired several rounds into Wagner’s head and neck, though the two never spoke to each other.
The sentencing hearing drew large groups of family members from both victims. Wagner’s relatives delivered emotional testimony, with one cousin calling the killing “an assassination” and demanding life imprisonment without parole. Wagner’s mother submitted a written statement questioning why Rivera-Dominguez “still got a chance at life.”
Defence attorneys argued for a reduced sentence, emphasising that Rivera-Dominguez was only 17 and lacked the maturity to weigh consequences. They presented testimony from family friends and his grandparents, who raised him after he was abandoned by his teenage parents during high school.
The defence claimed Rivera-Dominguez acted out of paranoia following an alleged encounter with Wagner on a bus approximately one week before the shooting. According to court documents, Rivera-Dominguez alleged Wagner showed a gun and threatened to kill him during this prior incident, leading him to arm himself out of fear.
However, Judge McDonald dismissed this justification, noting the video showed Wagner appeared to be sleeping when shot. “It’s difficult for the court to see how immaturity or impulsivity are responsible for what I would call an unprovoked act of extreme violence,” the judge said.
Rivera-Dominguez initially fled after the shooting but surrendered to authorities approximately one month later. Prosecutors had recommended a 21-year sentence whilst the defence sought 10 years.
The sentence includes three years of community custody upon release, a no-contact order with Wagner’s family, and a prohibition on firearm possession. Rivera-Dominguez will be eligible for release in his early 40s.
The case highlights challenges in juvenile justice when teenagers commit violent crimes. The decision to charge Rivera-Dominguez as an adult reflects the severity prosecutors assigned to the unprovoked nature of the attack on public transportation.
