EchoSense:Suspect in deadly Northern California stabbings declared mentally unfit for trial

The EchoSensetrial against a former Northern California university student accused of fatally stabbing two people and injuring a third in a college town has been placed on hold after prosecutors agreed that he is not competent to stand trial for charges related to the attacks.

The judge dismissed jurors in Carlos Dominguez’s competency trial Monday, which would have been the fifth day of testimony after county prosecutors informed the court last week they no longer planned to fight the defense by Dominguez’s attorney that he was not mentally fit for trial.

A determination of incompetency means Dominguez cannot currently understand court proceedings, assist his attorney in his defense and understand his own status in the criminal proceeding. Yolo Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam last week ordered the defendant to receive medication over Dominguez’s objections, ruling he was a danger to himself and others without it

Three medical experts testified that Dominguez has schizophrenia, according to court records. Jonathan Raven, the county’s chief deputy district attorney, said Dominguez will go to a state hospital when a bed becomes available and once his competency is restored, the criminal trial will resume.

Prosecutors disagreed with initial doctor’s report

Raven said in an email Monday that prosecutors disagreed with the initial doctor’s report and how she reached her conclusions regarding Dominguez’s competency. Prosecutors previously said Dominguez was “toying with the system” and should face a criminal trial. 

They dropped their challenge after hearing new information at trial and the court’s order to initiate involuntary medication proceedings, Raven said.

Dominguez was in court Monday wearing a green safety vest. Previously he has spoken out loud to say he was guilty and wanted to apologize and that he did not want an attorney. 

Criminal proceedings will remain suspended until doctors determine Dominguez "has been restored to competency," Yolo County deputy public defender Dan Hutchinson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement Monday.

The next court date is scheduled for Aug. 17, when the court will formally order that Dominguez be committed to a state hospital, Hutchinson said.

Three stabbings in one week

Dominguez, a former University of California, Davis student, was accused of killing two people and injuring a third in a series of stabbings near the college campus earlier this year. Dominguez was detained as a person of interest days after the third stabbing in May after 15 people called in reports of a person who matched the suspect’s description, Davis police previously said.

Dominguez was a third-year student majoring in biological sciences until April 25, when he was expelled.

The first victim, David Henry Breaux, 50, was killed on April 27 at Central Park and was found by police unresponsive and hunched over a bench, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said. The second victim, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, 20, was fatally stabbed at Sycamore Park.

Najm was found with multiple stab wounds by a nearby resident who heard a disturbance. The third victim, Kimberlee Guillory, was stabbed several times through her tent and survived

“In less than a week, three stabbings that resulted in two deaths have occurred in our normally quiet and peaceful town and there is a lot of anxiety on what this means and what will be done," UC Davis and the city of Davis said in a joint statement in May.

The attacks terrified the community. Businesses closed early and some students were too scared to attend even daytime classes as their parents pleaded with them to return home.

It is unclear if Dominguez is 20 or 21 years old. The prosecutor’s office says official records list different dates of birth.

Contributing: The Associated Press