WOODLAND, Calif. – Testimony in the retrial of Carlos Reales Dominguez proceeded as the jury heard detailed evidence about his mental health history and the investigation into items recovered from his residence. Judge Samuel McAdam also heard testimony from a Davis Police Department psychologist and a supervising sergeant regarding Dominguez’s condition and evidence collected during the investigation. Dominguez is charged with two counts of felony murder with intent, attempted murder and other enhancements.
Dominguez’s psychologist stated that his weight dropped to 108 pounds and that he became nonverbal for a period while struggling to make eye contact with people. While he was jailed, he was observed staring at the wall, displaying a rigid, slouched posture and had stopped showering.
Dominguez did not report having delusions or auditory or visual hallucinations. He also denied substance use, giving the impression that he did not use cannabis.
The psychologist was asked about the scope of the background investigation they were able to conduct on Dominguez. They reached out to his peers and parents, along with collaborating with other health care professionals who had cared for him.
Despite being unaware of Dominguez’s cannabis use, the psychologist did not change the observations that he experienced symptoms of schizophrenia.
The following witness was called by Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson. Alex Torres conducted the search as the supervising agent responsible for seizing evidence from Dominguez’s residence on May 4, 2023. He was present for the entire duration of the search and booked the items into evidence.
The court was shown photos of the evidence collected during the search, including white shorts with stains, a green tie-dye top, a clear hamper with a stain on the handle, bedding, Dominguez’s desk with a bag of cannabis, a bong and other items, including a cereal box, bowl, candle, notebooks and a monitor.
Torres was asked what process the Davis Police Department follows if investigators need to expand the scope of a search warrant. He explained investigators can obtain a secondary warrant, known as a piggyback warrant, that expands the original warrant.
According to Torres, nobody requested an additional warrant for the cannabis, and he does not recall seeing the cannabis at the residence. The court knows cannabis was present in Dominguez’s room because it was photographed.
Davis Police Department Sgt. Janell Bestpitch supervised the investigation. She was asked about signing off on Detective Ramos’ charging documents, in which Dominguez allegedly gave an alias during a consensual contact stop.
Consensual contact interactions do not require a person to remain and answer questions from police.
She was asked whether she was aware the prosecution had claimed there was absolutely no blood in Dominguez’s home, and she replied yes. She was then asked whether she had told anyone in the district attorney’s office that the claim was false, and she replied that, at that time, she had not.
Sgt. Bestpitch also stated that decisions about which items were submitted into evidence were not solely within her authority and that the incident in which Dominguez was stopped after allegedly providing a false alias in 2025 was discovered near the final day of the 2025 trial, June 2, 2025.
The evidence in question was a police report summarizing that Dominguez was stopped while riding a bicycle and gave the false alias, Joseph John, with a birth date of Oct. 10, 1999. This was similar to the name and birth date he allegedly gave arresting officers a few weeks later.
The trial reconvenes July 7, 2026, in Yolo County Superior Court.
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