Carlos Dominguez pleaded not guilty to two counts of premeditated murder and one count of attempted murder in relation to the string of stabbings that occurred in Davis at Yolo Superior Court on Friday.
Dominguez, 21, was arrested Thursday and is accused for the stabbing deaths of two Davis residents and the attempted murder of another.
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Dominguez was denied bail. Despite Public Defender Daniel Hutchinson’s request that bail stay set at 4 million, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Matt De Moura argued that Dominguez’s threat to the public was too great.
“When the court were to consider the facts and circumstances of the case and presume them to be true for the purposes of bail, there is such an egregious and dangerous nature to the community,” De Moura said. “It took two lives and almost cost a third person their life. Given that and the danger the defendant represents to the public I would ask that no bail be set.”
Yolo County Superior Court Judge Daniel Wolk agreed with De Moura, denying bail to Dominguez, citing the risk to public safety, the nature of the crimes and the seriousness of the charges.
Dominguez is eligible for a life prison term without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, given a special circumstance for multiple murders, according to a press release from the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. The decision whether to pursue the death penalty will be made at a later date.
David Henry Breaux, 50, was found dead in Central Park on April 27 with multiple stab wounds. Two nights later, on April 29, 20-year-old UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm was stabbed to death in Sycamore Park.
On May 1, Kimberlee Guillory was stabbed through her tent at a homeless encampment on 2nd and L street just before midnight. Guillory survived the attack but was left with critical injuries. As of Thursday, police confirmed she had undergone surgery and was recovering.
Dominguez, who was a third year student at UC Davis until April 25 when he was “separated for academic reasons,” was taken into custody Wednesday evening after 15 people called the Davis Police Department reporting seeing a man who matched the suspect description at Sycamore Park, the location of the second homicide.
Dominguez will be back in court on May 22 at 9 a.m. in Department 10 of Yolo Superior Court for the pre-hearing conference.
Source: www.mercurynews.com