The man arrested in connection with three stabbings — two fatal, one attempted — in Davis over the course of the last week appeared for the first time in Yolo County court Friday, pleading not guilty to any charges.
Appearing alongside a public defender, Carlos Dominguez, a 21-year-old former UC Davis student, was read his charges: two counts of murder and another of attempted murder, with enhancements for the premeditated and violent nature of his alleged crimes.
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office also requested special circumstances “for multiple murders, in that Carlos Reales Dominguez murdered more than one person.” If approved, prosecutors could pursue the death penalty or life without parole.
In a statement Friday, the district attorney’s office said “the decision regarding whether to pursue the death penalty will be made at [a] later date.”
Judge Daniel Wolk announced Dominguez would be held without bail as his case continues through the court system. Dominguez’s public defender argued to reduce bail to $4 million, but Wolk ruled otherwise.
Dominguez was taken into custody on Wednesday night and officially arrested Thursday, Davis police said at a press conference on Thursday.
The first stabbing death in Davis was reported April 27, when officers say they found an unresponsive man in downtown's Central Park. The victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, was unhoused.
Just two days later, on April 29, a Davis resident heard a disturbance and went outside to find a young man at Sycamore Park with multiple stab wounds. Authorities identified the victim as Karim Abou Najm, 20, a student at UC Davis and a graduate of Davis High School.
And on Monday night, a third stabbing was reported at around 11:45 p.m., when an unhoused woman was stabbed through her tent. This incident, unlike the two prior, was not fatal, and the woman is recovering at a local hospital, police said.
Dominguez’s next court appearance — a pretrial conference — is set for May 22 at 9 a.m.
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