WOODLAND, CA – After nine full days of deliberation, a Yolo County jury on Friday found Carlos Reales Dominguez not guilty of two counts of first-degree murder but deadlocked on all remaining charges, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial.
Dominguez remains in custody and still faces multiple charges, including two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and several special allegations, such as use of a deadly weapon, infliction of great bodily injury, multiple murder enhancements, and a prior felony conviction.
Before the verdict was announced, Judge Samuel McAdam, Deputy District Attorney Matt De Moura, and Deputy Public Defender Daniel Hutchinson conferred in court and discussed the possibility of a mistrial. They agreed that, if necessary, a new trial would begin on July 24.
At 9:40 a.m., the jury submitted its final verdict. Judge McAdam began by summarizing the evidence, witness testimony, and jury instructions before proceeding with the reading.
Jurors said they had reached a unanimous verdict on the two counts of first-degree murder but were divided on the second-degree murder charge.
Judge McAdam asked the jury for a numerical breakdown of the deadlock without specifying which side each vote represented. The jury reported a 10-2 split.
He then asked each juror whether they believed further deliberation could break the deadlock. All 12 jurors replied “no,” indicating they had remained at an impasse for over a week.
Judge McAdam proceeded to announce that Dominguez had been found not guilty on the two first-degree murder counts and declared a mistrial on the remaining charges. He asked each juror to confirm the verdict individually.
Jurors revealed that 10 had voted not guilty on the second-degree murder charge, while two had voted guilty.
Following the mistrial declaration, Judge McAdam provided jurors with a brochure detailing their rights and offering resources for managing stress after jury duty. He thanked them for their time and service.
Jurors are now permitted to speak with family, friends, attorneys, members of the press, or others about the case, but they are under no obligation to share any information. All juror notes from the trial will be collected and destroyed by the court.
Dominguez will remain in custody as the case moves forward. A trial setting conference is scheduled for July 24 at 1:30 p.m. in Department 14 of Yolo County Superior Court.
I understand why first degree murder wouldn’t apply in this case but what caused ten jurors not to vote for second degree?
Is there a chance Dominguez actually gets off?
This is the strongest case I have seen for NGBRI. That’s the most likely outcome at this point. If that occurred, most likely he would be institutionalized for the rest of his life.
As they were leaning not guilty, yet we “know” he killed the people (I believe that is not contested, correct?), then if he is guilty, and later is found not sane, then he gets medical help and an institution sentence, right? But if the next Jury finds him literally not guilty, is he just set free? Seems he would be a threat to society.
It seems like the jury was probably leaning towards manslaughter or ngbri. He’s probably not a threat to society as long as he is properly medicated. We’ll see how this plays out.
“He’s probably not a threat to society as long as he is properly medicated”
Can we count of the “system” not to miss a week and someone dies?
I’d be surprised if they took such a chance.
My understanding is that the jury had to make findings on charges in this order: 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, and manslaughter. (“Not guilty” on all was not an option, as Reales had already admitted to committing the killings.) The jury made a finding of not guilty of Murder 1, but deadlocked on the Murder 2 decision. They never got to take up the matter of manslaughter.
I also understand that the insanity decision happens in a later trial with a different jury from the guilt phase trial.
thanks, that makes sense