Florida homicide suspect located, arrested in Limestone County

Published 1:30 pm Friday, February 20, 2026

A multi-agency search for a Florida homicide suspect ended this week near Athens, after deputies with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office and Huntsville Police Department officers located the suspect on Interstate 65 and took him into custody.

Dominic Alexander Van Wasshenova, 18, faces a charge in Florida of homicide (murder — dangerous depraved without premeditation) in connection with the death of his alleged girlfriend, 19 year-old Azalia Heather Dotson-Salinas. 

Dotson Salinas was discovered dead in a mobile home in Santa Rosa County, Florida on February 13. After securing the scene and conducting interviews with the victim’s family, the Major Crimes Unit alongside the Crime Scene Unit of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office in Milton, Florida identified Van Wasshenova as a person of interest. 

Van Wasshenova subsequently was located on Interstate 65 in Limestone County, “when the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office and Huntsville Police Department made contact and detained [the] subject,” according to a statement from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office (SRCSO). 

“Detectives from the [SRCSO] Major Crimes Unit traveled to Limestone County, AL, to interview the subject… He is currently being held in the Limestone County Jail awaiting extradition.”

The investigation enlisted the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office and the Huntsville Police Department. 

“Any time we can help our law enforcement partners, we are there,” LCSO said in a followup post on social media. “…We appreciate the strong partnership between agencies that allows law enforcement to work together quickly and effectively to ensure public safety and support victims and their families.”