Judge: ‘Time will tell’ how Dominguez case proceeds

By Lauren Keene McNaughton Media

A juror in the Carlos Reales Dominguez competency trial expressed relief Monday that Yolo County prosecutors conceded the former UC Davis student isn’t mentally fit to stand trial.

“I don’t think I had enough information to make a decision,”

Woodland resident

Tim Kinser told The Davis Enterprise following the jury’s dismissal. “We could have had more evidence this week that would have made my decision easier, but I’m glad we didn’t have to go in and deliberate on this.”

Dominguez’s competency trial was slated to resume Monday morning. But last Thursday, Yolo County prosecutors Matt De

CITY

Continued from Page 1 permissive than Yolo County’s existing phrasing, itself more permissive than other similar ordinances in Davis and Woodland, so as to be more in line with how people in the community store their weapons and to focus the ordinance on what Miller and Loren called “crimes of opportunity” such as guns being stolen from vehicles.

As read by Miller, the entirety of the ordinance would require that “all firearms must be secured in a locking container or with an approved trigger lock when left in an unoccupied residence, “all firearms be secured in a locked trunk or in a locked container or equipped with trigger lock and stored out of plain sight when left in an unattended vehicle” and “prohibits all firearms from being left overnight in an unattended vehicle.”

According to Miller, the ordinance would have exceptions for police officers that are on duty, police vehicles, federal officers and military personnel acting

The ordinance would apply a $1,000 fine or six months in county jail, or both for gun owners who left rifles and shotguns in such stated above unsafe situations and would be a misdemeanor under the Winters Municiple Code.

“The Yolo ordinance was the most concise and its for the county itself so we’re talking farm land and so forth. but then we didn’t want to just adopt something that was made in consideration in other things. we thought we wanted safety and protection from crimes of opportunity,” Loren said in regards to how the draft came to be.

The council opened the floor to the public to provide feedback and comments.

A number of community members openly claimed this gun safe-

Moura and Frits van der Hoek announced they agreed Dominguez satisfied one element of incompetency — that he’s unable to assist his attorney in a rational manner.

“At this point there is no longer a dispute as to his competency,” Yolo Superior Court Judge Samuel McAdam told jurors before dismissing them, explaining that Dominguez would be transferred to a state hospital for treatment, “with the goal of restoring his competency.

“From there, only time will tell,” McAdam added. “The law and the facts will dictate how the case goes.”

Dominguez, 21, faces murder and attempted-murder charges for the late April stabbing deaths of “Compassion Guy” ty ordinance, which is based on existing laws, would be a violation of the US Constitution, while also accusing the proposed ordinance of targeting farmers and people from rural areas.

Resident Chuck Pearce asked for clarification on what the city’s definition of “unattended” was, to which the answer was the vehicle was in the line of sight. Pearce referred to the third part of proposed ordinance’s requirement to not leave a firearm unattended and shared a scenario for council members to consider.

“If I’m going into the store to get a coffee and pay for my gas and I can’t see my vehicle, even though (the firearm is) in a locked case and locked inside my vehicle ... that’s setting me up to put myself in a position where I’m in violation of a criminal act and that’s no comomn-sense gun law,” Pearce said.

Greg Contreras, chair of the Winters Planning Commission, asked council members “is this an area we want to weigh into given he potential cost of defending potention litigation that were to come into the city” in not only challenging the ordinance itself but in paying the cost of enforcing it.

“As with any policy, it’s important to ask the threshold question, Is this something within our scope that we ought to do or in probably the most gun-unfriendly state in the country is it something that should be left to the general rules where they have the capacity to defend the cost of litigating these things that I think the city of Winters really doesn’t have any excess funds at all,” Contreras said.

Contreras stated there are other priorities being asked by the community to address within the city, and that the gun safety storage ordinance “came out of nowhere and I would ask the council the threshold question, do we want to get into this? shoudl

David Breaux and UC Davis student Karim Abou Najm at two local parks, as well as the knife attack on unhoused woman Kimberlee Guillory, who survived, at an L Street encampment.

His public defender, Dan Hutchinson, declared a doubt regarding Dominguez’s competency back in May, and court-appointed psychologist Dr. Juliana Rohrer issued a report that deemed him incompetent.

Prosecutors challenged how Rohrer reached her conclusions, however, and demanded a jury trial on the issue.

In explaining his office’s change in position, De Moura cited the testimony of Rohrer, who had gained additional information, and forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Dale Watson. Both we leave it to the county or the state?”

Farmer and business owner Chris Turkovich said local farmers, ranchers and hunters use firearms as tools daily in the agricultural setting, and that there are already “laws in the books” at the state that address safety for children and negligent storage of firearms. Turkovich said the proposed ordinance targets the agricultural and hunting communities because the “ordinance spoke strictly on shotguns and long guns, which are precisely the diagnosed Dominguez with schizophrenia and opined that the mental illness likely obstructed his ability to aid his attorney and understand the nature and purpose of his court proceedings.

Also impacting prosecutors’ decision was McAdam’s court order last Thursday for Dominguez to undergo involuntary medication at the Yolo County Jail, where medical staff say his health has deteriorated since his May 3 arrival. He’s been isolated under suicide watch ever since.

“I’m very happy with what Judge McAdam did,” Kinser said. “I felt that (Dominguez) definitely needed something. Was he incompetent to stand trial? I don’t know, but I knew he needed something.” Hutchinson could cussion following requests to prevent accidental shootings or firearms that are stolen when they are left unoccupied in a vehicle.

Loren spoke on the reasoning behind the ordinance, noting that it wasn’t the council’s intention to take anyone’s guns away nor restrict access to them, as she herself has been a gun owner in the past.

Loren said she appreciated the robust discussion, saying, “I think that it’s all educational for all of us.” not confirm Monday whether the medication regimen has begun. Dominguez arrived in court Monday still wearing an anti-suicide smock, but had pulled his hair away from his face, rather than covering it, as it’s been for many of his court hearings.

“That could have been just a ploy, but you still could see the color in his face. There was nothing in there for him,” Kinser said of Dominguez’s prior appearance.

“Today, there was a soul in there, basically.”

Kinser said he found himself frustrated by the testimony of one witness, the head administrator for jail medical provider Wellpath, regarding the three-week delay in administering Dominguez’s first dose of emergency medica- flected on the discussion brought by presenters from Moms Demand Action and community members before weighing in on his perspective and the desire to provide the community with more education opportunities on safe firearm storage. tion. She testified during the trial’s first week that although jail tele-psychiatrist Dr. Patricia Tyler recommended the antipsychotic medication on June 21, Dominguez didn’t receive the dose until July 13 due to delays caused by jailhouse protocols.

“In my opinion, his mental status has gone down by the way he’s being treated at the jail,” Kinser said. “There was no accountability there at all. Our system has failed us by not doing what needs to be done.” time and effort into an ordinance without education” in response to accusations that the ordinance wasn’t sufficiently advertised by the city and county. tools used by farmers, rancher and hunters throughout the region. While handguns — which are by far more problematic when it comes to every statistical category ... were not addressed.”

Dominguez returns to court on Aug. 17 for further proceedings regarding his state hospital placement procedure.

“So the obvious question is there really a need for a Winters-specific gun law?” Turkovich asked.

Miller provided clarifying information on a number of points regarding gun laws brought up by the public, after several community members questioned why the ordinances focused on long guns rather than pistols and again claiming this was “targeted” against farmers. As Miller reiterated, state law already completely details how pistols and handguns are to be safely stored in the home and in vehicles, and that this ordinance thus covers an area not already covered. He said the difference with the ordinance was to address “unattended” firearms.

Mayor Bill Biasi noted the topic was brought up for dis-

She noted she’s “not anti-gun in any way” and she doesn’t think that they were trying to fix something, but were communicating the values of living within the city of Winters and she saw this as a step toward it.

Kate Laddish shared that she grew up with guns, but that she was in favor of the city having a safe gun-storage ordinance because her family’s guns were stolen by people who had previously been invited into their home and were used illegally. The incident changed their storage practices because “what we thought was safe was really not.”

In response to comments that there haven’t been any recent accidental shooting incidents in Winters, Laddish said if the scope of the search was broadened, they may find recent tragedies in neighboring communities.

“I hope that we wouldn’t need a tragedy in order to take steps to protect ourselves and our neighbors,” Laddish said.

Following public comment, Biasi re-

“At this point, I’m not convinced that Winters needs its own ordinance for the safe storage of guns,” Biasi said. “I can see some of it, but I’m afraid that it’s just going to be an ordinance that’s going to sit on the books and I don’t see it getting enforced.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Albert Vallecillo said, “the intent isn’t to criminalize anybody who takes care of their weapons… that’s not the intent.” Rather, the hope was to “keep the community safe from people who don’t understand or care…we’re not intending to make anyone criminals, but to make our community safe.”

Council member Richard Casavecchia asked how would they define success with the proposed ordinance and voiced that he didn’t know how it would successfully be enforced. Casavecchia said firearms storage laws are “relatively new” and “they don’t have the regulatory history or tradition to be constitutional in my mind.”

Loren said, “what motivates me is having a really safe community, and also educating people” continuing that “I wouldn’t want to put

“I could see it as something for the betterment for Winters, and if I’m in the minority on that, I’m in the minority on that,” Loren said before sharing gratitude for “all of the voices that came out” and the passion that was shared. She said “I think we take a breath on this” and think about “how to bring back something with education as the cornerstone.”

Biasi said he thought the city needed to focus their efforts on providing education and training on gun safety and storage. Loren put support behind the process of partnering with others and working on outreach to the community. Miller said Winters Police Department is already in a partnership with Project Child Safe and a supply of gun locks was at the police station as well as literature and other relevant resources.

Loren said, “I would make a motion that we step back and look at an educational program such as the (Project Child Safe) program and flesh it out at a later date…and put a hold on the ordinance” so the council and community can focus on education and disseminating gun safety resources to the community.

Council members approved the motion unanimously.

Public Safety Report

City of Winters

Fire

Jul. 26: 6:10 a.m., Morgan Street, Water

Flow Alarm

~8:54 a.m., CR 90A, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~3:36 p.m., CR 3, Motor vehicle accident with injuries

~5:18 p.m., Matsumoto Lane, EMS call, – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Jul. 27: 2:19 a.m., Matsumoto Lane, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~12:49 p.m., Main Street, Service call –other

~9:58 p.m., Graf Way, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Jul. 28: 12:21 p.m., Morgan Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Jul. 29: 11:09 a.m., Morgan Street, Odor

Investigation

~11:17 a.m., Morgan Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~1:04 p.m., CR 87, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~1:34 p.m., Hwy 128, False alarm or false call – other

~7:44 p.m., Grant Avenue, Public Assist

~9:24 p.m., Fredericks Drive, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~9:41 p.m., Hwy 128, False alarm or false call – other

Jul. 30: 3:41 p.m., Morgan Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~6:36 p.m., Main Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~11:41 p.m., Colby Lane, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Jul. 31: 12:08 p.m., Morgan Street, False alarm or false call –other

~12:15 p.m., Morgan Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~7:20 p.m., Main Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Aug. 1: 10:08 a.m., Morgan Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

~9:20 p.m., Baker Street, EMS call – excluding vehicle accident with injury

Police

Arrest Log

Jul. 30: Lynda Lou- ise Schroeder (Age 82), Charges: Winters PD misdemeanor warrant of arrest, Disposition: Transported to Yolo County Jail

Report Log

Jul. 26: 10:30 p.m.,

400 Block of Main Street, Verbal Domestic Dispute

Jul. 27: 3:50 p.m.,

400 Block of Anderson Avenue, Audible Alarm

Jul. 28: 9:18 p.m., 10

E. Main Street, Audible Alarm ~9:41 p.m., 100 Block of E. Main Street, Vehicle Tow

Jul. 29: 4:39 p.m.,

400 Railroad Avenue, Audible Alarm

Jul. 30: 4:31 p.m., 700 Block Apricot Avenue, Verbal Domestic Dispute

Jul. 31: 2:40 a.m., 100 Block E. Grant Avenue, Audible Alarm ~5:14 a.m., 400 Block of Main Street, Theft from a vehicle ~6:40 a.m., 400 Block of Main Street, Theft from a vehicle ~11:18 a.m., 700 Block of Matsumoto Lane, Found property

For our editorial policy on crime log entries, see winters express.com/unpub lishing-policy.

How does a group of dolphins decide on something?

They flipper coin.