By Yanik Llamas and Emmy MacRae
WOODLAND, CA – Day five of the jury trial of Carlos Reales Dominguez convened Thursday in Yolo County Superior Court, with Judge Samuel T. McAdam presiding. The morning and afternoon sessions featured expert testimony, eyewitness accounts, and a defense objection to Amazon search records that the court ultimately sustained.
Dominguez is charged with two counts of murder, along with enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon, infliction of great bodily injury, multiple murders, and a prior felony conviction.
In the morning, Judge McAdam ruled on several key evidentiary matters. He denied a defense motion to suppress a poem containing the line “a knife in my hand,” finding it relevant. He also allowed autopsy and crime scene photos to be shown to the jury in support of expert testimony.
A major point of contention came from the defense’s objection to Amazon search records introduced by the prosecution. Deputy Public Defender Daniel Hutchinson argued the Excel-formatted records were vague, lacked proper explanation from a custodian of records, and were irrelevant—especially since the crime involved a knife, not a firearm. The records included searches for rifles, pistols, silencers, and pellet guns.
“The people argue that Dominguez made these searches with the intent to buy a rifle,” Hutchinson stated. “But we don’t know what was searched manually versus what was suggested or automated by Amazon.”
Deputy District Attorney Frits Van Der Hoek countered that the prosecution was working to secure a custodian of records and argued that the searches for covert weapons—including pellet guns—preceded the purchase of a knife. He claimed the searches were relevant to showing premeditation.
Judge McAdam disagreed. “The crimes committed here are vastly different from a sniper attack,” he noted, ultimately sustaining the defense objection due to lack of foundation.
Also testifying Thursday morning was Aaron Moe, a full-time investigator for the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. When asked if it would ever be appropriate to tell a victim they misidentified someone, Moe said investigators avoid influencing a victim’s perception.
Deputy Folsom, a Yolo County correctional officer, testified that during Dominguez’s booking, height and weight were self-reported rather than officially measured.
Shannon Hall, a dispatcher for the Davis Police Department and member of the evidence response team, testified that she took crime scene photos in the stabbing case involving Kimberly Guillory. Hall said other officers may have taken additional photos, and that not all images shown in court were familiar to her.
Danielle Luiz, a former Davis Police employee, testified that she handled evidence processing and booking. Luiz confirmed that the only item recovered from Dominguez was a bloodstained towel. She did not participate in the residence search but helped determine what should be tested from it.
Christine Berrios, an unhoused witness, testified about events leading up to the attack on Guillory. She had been living with Guillory and others, in a tent encampment for safety. On the night of the attack, she recalled seeing a man with shoulder-length curly hair moving suspiciously among the trees. Her husband, Isaac Cheesman, chased the individual, who wore black sweatpants with white stripes.
Shortly thereafter, Berrios recalled hearing the tent’s rain flap snap and Guillory scream, “He’s punching me! The kid with the curly hair!” Berrios testified she saw others rushing to the scene but did not see the attacker.
Cheesman also took the stand, continuing his testimony in the afternoon session. He confirmed his and Berrios’s prior substance abuse issues and said they were living in a tent next to Guillory’s. Cheesman described taking precautions—such as hanging tarps—to protect themselves during a time when the community was on edge due to multiple stabbings.
Cheesman testified he heard the sound of a cord being cut before Guillory was attacked. He had previously chased a suspicious man who resembled the accused and told him, “You look like the guy who’s been stabbing people.” He recounted that Guillory screamed about being attacked by the “curly-haired man.”
During cross-examination, DPD Hutchinson pressed Cheesman about whether his identification of the accused was based on assumption. Cheesman insisted he was “positive” it was Dominguez, but admitted he had been off methamphetamine for just a week at the time.
Cheesman described the moment he and another ran from their tent to find Guillory bleeding and the attacker already gone. Guillory had blood down her leg and had to “lay back down,” he said.
After Cheesman was dismissed, the prosecution called Tou Yang, a print analyst for the California Department of Justice. Yang testified that he has conducted tens of thousands of fingerprint comparisons and had previously testified in court ten times.
Judge McAdam qualified Yang as an expert witness. Yang testified that Dominguez’s palm print matched one found at the crime scene and that no prior matches had been made. He emphasized that fingerprints and palm prints are “unique and persistent,” present before birth and unchanged through life.
The trial will resume Monday, May 12, at 9 a.m. in Yolo County Superior Court.
