The UC Davis alumnus accused of stabbing three people near campus has pleaded not guilty to murder charges following his arrest Thursday.
Carlos Dominguez, 21, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to a news release from the Yolo County District Attorney.
Dominguez is charged with «intentional, willful, and premeditated murder» and attempted murder, as well as use of a deadly weapon, according to court documents filed in Yolo County.
He appeared in court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Yolo County Superior Court Judge Daniel Wolk denied Dominguez bail, citing the risk to public safety and flight risk for the defendant given the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
Dominguez remained expressionless as the judge read the complaint filed by prosecutors on Friday. He answered the judge’s questions in the affirmative several times but did not rule otherwise.
If convicted, Dominguez could be sentenced to life in prison without parole or the death penalty, according to the district attorney’s office.
The office will decide whether to seek the death penalty against Dominguez at a later date, they added.
The victims who died in the stabbings that left the city of Davis on edge for nearly a week were David Henry Breaux, 50, and UC Davis student Karim Abou-Najm, 20, police said. Davis resident Kimberlee Guillory was stabbed and seriously injured.
The first fatal stabbing was reported around 11:20 a.m. on April 27, when officers responded to a welfare check request in the city’s Central Park. Breaux, who is homeless, was found hunched over a bench with «very significant» stab wounds, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said.
Two days later, on Saturday, Abou-Najm died from injuries sustained in a stabbing near Sycamore Park around 9:14 p.m., Pytel said.
Both were stabbed «many times,» he said.
The third stabbing occurred around 11:36 p.m. Monday. Guillory, who was homeless, had gone to sleep in a tent when someone walked through her and then caught up with her and began stabbing her, Pytel said.
After police received more than a dozen calls from people saying they had seen a man matching a suspect’s description, Dominguez was taken into custody Wednesday in Sycamore Park and arrested Thursday.
Dominguez, who was a UC Davis student until last week, has lived in Davis for the past two years, Pytel said. He enrolled in 2020 and majored in biological sciences, the university said.
Dominguez was a junior until April 25, «when he was separated for academic reasons,» UC Davis said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed.