WOODLAND, Calif. (CN) — Two doctors appointed Thursday will evaluate a former UC Davis student accused of fatally stabbing two people and injuring a third, and who last week pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The insanity plea by Carlos Dominguez, 22, led Yolo County Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam to say last week that he must appoint doctors in the case. He, along with prosecutors and Dominguez’s public defender, examined a list of court-approved doctors, leading Thursday to McAdam’s appointments.
Noting the volume of medical records to sift through, and the nature of the criminal case against Dominguez, McAdam opted to give the doctors two months to perform their evaluations. He set a Dec. 19 hearing to receive the results in court, with the understanding more time might be needed.
“The court has every reason to believe we’re going to have this trial in April,” McAdam said, indicating his desire to keep the current court schedule intact.
A competency report completed by another doctor, and that doctor’s testimony during Dominguez’s competency trial last year, will be withheld from the doctors now evaluating Dominguez, McAdam ruled. However, they’ll have access to all other documents and trial testimony.
Contacted by Courthouse News after the hearing, Michael Vitiello — distinguished professor of law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law — said it makes sense for prosecutors and defense attorneys to agree on the doctors.
“A good prosecutor’s office and good defenders should agree on that,” he added.
Vitiello pointed to the need to remain realistic. If objective evaluators determine that Dominguez was insane at the time of the stabbings, there’s no need for a trial. The case instead would end in a plea.
“We get educated about criminal trials on television,” Vitiello said, adding that if the justice system works properly, fair results will occur without the drama.
Dominguez’s competency — which is different legally from insanity — was initially at issue after his May 2023 arrest.
A report indicated Dominguez was incompetent to stand trial, meaning he couldn’t comprehend the accusations against him and couldn’t assist his attorney at that time. Prosecutors pushed back and a trial began on the competency issue only.
Witnesses including former friends and a girlfriend, along with medical experts, testified that Dominguez had changed from an athletic, well-groomed man into one who was reclusive and unhygienic. One doctor said he had schizophrenic traits.
Prosecutors relented before the trial reached the jury, agreeing that Dominguez was incompetent. The former UC Davis student then went to a state hospital, where his competency was restored. He returned to court for a preliminary hearing in February, where McAdam found enough evidence to continue the case toward trial.
Dominguez entered his pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity last Thursday. Insanity in the legal sense means someone couldn’t understand the nature and quality of their acts at the time they occurred.
Authorities accuse Dominguez of a series of stabbings in spring 2023 that put the college town of Davis on edge.
David Henry Breaux, 50, was killed April 27, 2023. Karim Abou Najm, 20, was fatally stabbed on April 29, 2023. Kimberly Guillory, who survived her attacker, was stabbed May 1, 2023. Officers arrested Dominguez days later.