Lieutenant Domingo “Mingo” Villarreal

Lieutenant Domingo “Mingo” Villarreal, CSCSA
Special Investigations / Evidence & Records
San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office

Lieutenant Domingo “Mingo” Villarreal serves as the Lieutenant of Special Investigations, Evidence, Records & Sexual Offender Registrations at the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office. With a law enforcement career that began in 1988, Lt. Villarreal brings over three decades of experience in criminal investigations, forensic science, and public service to his role.

He leads the Sheriff’s Office’s efforts in complex investigations, oversees the Property & Evidence Division, and is spearheading the acquisition of a latent print workstation to search the state’s and the FBI’s fingerprint databases to identify developed prints from evidence and scenes. Also, the implementation of ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation standards to enhance accountability and forensic practices. He is also responsible for cold case investigations, crime scene oversight, and streamlining digital records and evidence workflows.

Lt. Villarreal is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (CSCSA) and a graduate of the FBI National Academy (Session 233). He previously held executive positions with the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC), where he served as Director of Training, Corporate Security, and Deputy Director of Crime Scene and Multimedia Divisions.

Internationally, Lt. Villarreal works as a Senior Forensic and Law Enforcement Advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). He has designed and led forensic training programs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He notably trained and mentored the first certified Crime Scene Investigators from Belize (12) and Panama (14) through the International Association for Identification (IAI), where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Acting International Representative.

Lt. Villarreal is fluent in Spanish and a strong advocate for international collaboration in forensic science, ethics in policing, and the development of future leaders in law enforcement.