By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Police on Monday arrested a man wanted in connection with the beating and stabbing death of another man last month in Oregon.

Raymundo “Scooby” Dominguez, 32, was arrested on a warrant charging him with murder after he was found hiding in a building on Pine Street, police said.

Dominguez is one of two men accused of killing a 23-year-old transient in Multnomah County, Oregon, then leaving the body near a hiking trail.

On Monday afternoon, Lewiston police were contacted by police in Clinton, who reported that Dominguez might be staying in an apartment at 299 Pine St.

“When we receive information like that, we definitely take it seriously,” said Lewiston police Lt. Tom Avery. “We mobilized fairly quickly.”

Lewiston police and an agent from the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force stormed the Pine Street apartment building at about 5:30 p.m. Avery said Dominguez was not immediately located, but that police found him during a search of the building.

“We found him hiding in a cellar,” Avery said.

Dominguez was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn Monday night. Lewiston police notified investigators in Oregon about the arrest and efforts were under way to have the suspect extradited back to that state.

In early July, the body of 23-year-old Eric Gottschalk was found by a fisherman in the Sandy River delta area in Multnomah County, Oregon. The area is not far from Portland.

Police in Oregon believe Gottschalk was camping when Dominguez and another man beat him and stabbed him in the neck and chest. It was believed Gottschalk was killed on July 9.

In late July, 24-year-old Nicholas A. Thompson, of Portland, Ore., was indicted for murder in connection with the killing. Police have been searching for Dominguez since.

Avery said Dominguez and his wife once lived in Clinton, a small town near Waterville. When Clinton police were told about the slaying, they began investigating and learned Dominguez had recently moved to Lewiston.

Avery said Dominguez was arrested without incident once he was found in the basement on Pine Street. It was not immediately clear who Dominguez had been staying with at that address.

Police said Dominguez is wanted on several other warrants from around the country. In Maine, he is wanted by Kennebec County sheriff’s officials on charges of passing bad checks. He is also wanted in California for probation violations.

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