erprise Stabbing suspect pleads not guilty

Judge denies bail at arraignment

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

WOODLAND — The former UC Davis student suspected of killing two people and wounding a third in a nearly weeklong stabbing spree pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that could bring the death penalty.

Wearing what appeared to be a protective smock used for inmates on suicide watch, 21-year-old Carlos Reales Dominguez stood with his eyes downcast as Yolo Superior Court Judge Daniel Wolk read the four-page complaint prosecutors filed that morning, charging him with two counts of premeditated murder and one count of premeditated attempted murder, all of which carry enhancements for use of a deadly weapon.

Dominguez also faces the special-circumstance allegation of multiple murders, which if found true makes him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office said it would decide whether to pursue capital punishment “at a later date.”

Another case enhancement says Dominguez’s alleged crimes “involved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness.”

After appointing the public defender’s office to represent Dominguez, Wolk denied bail in the case and set a pre-hearing conference for 9 a.m. May 22.

Several members of Dominguez’s family attended the brief