Prosecutors Monday dismissed a murder case against a 76-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a woman in Huntington Beach because the defendant has died.
Robert Cipiano Alvarez Jr. was charged in March with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the discharge of a gun causing death. He was accused of killing 65-year-old Bari Payne of Huntington Beach.
Orange County Jail records show Alvarez, who was being held without bail, was released on June 22. Prosecutors dismissed the case at Alvarez’s arraignment in the West Justice Center in Westminster.
Police received multiple calls about 10 a.m. March 3 related to a domestic dispute with gunshots in a home in the 19000 block of Brookhurst Street, police said.
When officers arrived no one answered the door, so they made their way into the residence and found Alvarez, police said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.