Planning the perfect murder

BARSTOW - A little bit of Barstow will make it onto television tonight.

There wasn't a TV crew in town and no one from Barstow is an actor, but Barstow High School graduate Dominic Abeyta will have his TV debut at 10:00 p.m. tonight on CBS.

Tonight Abeyta will see his work go from an idea to an episode of" CSI: Miami." Abeyta began his time on "CSI: Miam" as an assistant to writer and producer Ann Donahue. Donahue has worked on everything from "21 Jump Street" to "Beverly Hills 90210" during her career.

It is Donahue who gave Abeyta the chance to write an episode, he said. Abeyta had originally written a spec script for "CSI: New York" and gave it to Donahue. She liked his writing and gave him the chance to begin work on his ideas, he said.

"I got the offer to write an episode in November," Abeyta said in a phone interview Thursday. "I worked with 10 staff writers and broke it in over Thanksgiving weekend. They just did the sound mix and the special effects (last) week."

It has been a long road from Barstow High School to "CSI: Miami" for Abeyta. Following high school he went to the California State University in Fullerton where he received a bachelor's degree in Communications in 1997. During and after college Abeyta interned for Walt Disney Television and worked on whatever shows he could, such as "Homeboys in Outer Space" and "Life's Work."

Abeyta then got a job as a staff assistant for a TV production office at Walt Disney Television. He worked there for a couple years before being laid off when ABC merged with Disney to create Touchstone Television, he said. Although he lost his job in the merger it ultimately lead him to his next opportunity working as a writer's assistant on the TV show "Felicity." It was while working on Felicity that Abeyta would become connected to Donahue.

"I always though it was so unattainable to be a TV writer," Abeyta said. "Hollywood seemed so far away. I didn't expect this."

Abeyta may be living in Los Angeles but his roots are still back in the sandy soil of Barstow. His parents still live here and he comes back to visit them often. Abeyta cites several of his Barstow teachers, including Tim Garvin and Jim Duarte, as sources of inspiration. He also says Barstow molded him into who he is.

"I think growing up in a small town forced me to be creative, and my young imagination lead me down this path," Abeyta said. "The people who I grew up with were big influences on me. The teachers there were awesome. They were key in promoting creativity in their students."

No amount of success Abeyta has can change the memories Barstow residents have of him. Barstow High School teacher and former Abeyta classmate Jose Rubio will always remember him as a positive young kid in student government.

"He was always really outgoing and friendly," Rubio said. "We didn't have classes together except student government, but everyone knew him."