WOODLAND, Calif. — The competency case against Carlos Dominguez, accused of fatally stabbing two people in Davis and injuring a third, ended abruptly Thursday after prosecutors said they no longer believe he can assist his defense attorney.
The jury trial against Dominguez, 21, was scheduled to resume Monday morning in Yolo County Superior Court. However, at a Thursday hearing Deputy District Attorney Matt De Moura said prosecutors had changed their minds after a doctor’s testimony last week, and a psychiatrist’s testimony Thursday morning in a related matter.
“We would agree that Mr. Dominguez is no longer competent to stand trial,” De Moura said.
Jurors would have considered whether Dominguez could understand the court proceedings, could assist his attorney in his defense and comprehend his status in the criminal proceeding. Unable to do all three, prosecutors declined to proceed.
Judge Samuel McAdam ruled Dominguez suffers from a serious mental condition and can’t assist his defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson.
“I sat through the trial and watched it,” McAdam said, adding moments later: “Carlos Dominguez does not have the competency to stand trial.”
Dominguez will eventually be moved to a state hospital, where doctors will try to restore his competency. He’s next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 17.
McAdam expressed hope that Dominguez will have his competency restored.
“We’re not there right now,” he said. “Criminal proceedings are suspended until we restore his competency.”
Dominguez is accused of murder in connection with the fatal stabbings of David Henry Breaux, 50, and Karim Abou Najm, 20, in April. He faces an attempted murder charge in connection with an attack on Kimberlee Guillory, a woman in her 60s, who was stabbed multiple times in a homeless encampment. Dominguez was arrested May 3. He’s pleaded not guilty.
Jurors in his competency trial weren’t considering his guilt. Instead, they had to determine if Dominguez was competent to stand trial. Thursday’s decision stops the trial, though McAdam said he will speak to jurors in person at 9 a.m. Monday, when they’re scheduled to appear in court.
McAdam also heard arguments on whether Dominguez should have medication administered involuntarily. He heard from psychiatrist Patricia Tyler, who testified that she diagnosed Dominguez with schizophrenia.
The judge said she was the third doctor to say Dominguez suffered from that mental disorder.
“He hardly speaks at all,” Tyler said. “He has expressed delusions to me.”
Tyler also testified to Dominguez’s unwillingness to eat, catatonic behavior and inability to care for his basic needs. Dominguez has been taken to the emergency room about four to five times since his arrest. He weighs 108 pounds.
McAdam then ruled that it’s in Dominguez’s best interest to have medication. Hutchinson said his client remains opposed to it.
Thursday’s hearings came during an off-week for the competency trial, which began the last full week of July and was set to resume next week.
In the trial jurors heard from Dominguez’s former girlfriend, friends and housemates, as well as doctors and medical personnel who met with him after his May 3 arrest.
The girlfriend and housemates testified to Dominguez’s deteriorating behavior, watching him go from a well-groomed athlete to a disheveled, thin man who became withdrawn and talked about voices he heard. He once told his girlfriend he heard the devil in his dreams.
Psychologist Juliana Rohrer testified that Dominguez exhibited traits of someone with schizophrenia: a lack of motivation and eye contact, walking stiffly, taking things literally and denying having a mental illness. He doesn’t believe his competency should be questioned, she said.
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