WOODLAND, Calif. — Testimony resumed before Judge Samuel T. McAdam in Yolo County Superior Court as the retrial of accused Carlos Reales Dominguez, who faces two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, centered on competing expert opinions over whether schizophrenia or cannabis use best explains his mental state at the time of the alleged offenses.
The prosecutor questioned Dr. Vincent, a mental health evaluator, about her opinion of Dominguez’s mental health and the information she reviewed in preparing her evaluation.
Dr. Vincent testified she assessed the accused from July 21 to Sept. 13 while he was held at Wellpath and said his presentation did not change much during that period, including what she described as poor hygiene.
Dr. Vincent testified that even though Dominguez was in custody, he repeatedly expressed concern about returning to school. He was planning to keep going to class even though he could not, she said.
“Someone who thought logically would know that would not be possible,” Dr. Vincent said. His declining academic performance, social withdrawal and bizarre behavior before the alleged attacks were consistent with schizophrenia, she added.
The prosecutor argued that Dominguez’s cannabis use contributed to his mental state and symptoms. However, Dr. Vincent testified that Dominguez’s symptoms were consistent with schizophrenia rather than cannabis-induced psychosis.
Dr. Vincent affirmed that cannabis can worsen psychotic symptoms and is a risk factor for developing schizophrenia. However, she said the accused’s symptoms were not caused by cannabis, arguing that if marijuana were the sole cause, the drug-induced psychosis would not have continued over the course of a year.
Dr. Vincent testified that, in preparing her findings, she examined not only the body camera footage provided but also the accused’s seven-hour police interrogation.
In addition, she reviewed interview transcripts and listened to recordings of music the accused had created. She acknowledged that she did not review CCTV footage of the alleged assaults, police reports or statements from the accused’s roommates before writing her report.
Dr. Vincent also testified that the accused did not provide the same account of his drug use to different professionals. She said he told her that, during the two occasions when he claimed to have been attacked, he believed “shadow” figures were trying to harm him.
Those hallucinations, Dr. Vincent testified, were consistent with what she described as a very active psychotic episode. She also characterized his behavior after the alleged attacks — returning home, making music for several hours and eventually sleeping in blood-stained clothes — as evidence of disorganized thinking rather than logical planning.
Dr. Vincent connected the family’s observations of Dominguez’s return home during spring break in 2023 with their observations of his behavior, personal hygiene and unusual remarks. Those observations, she testified, gave her reason to believe psychotic symptoms were present before the alleged offenses.
The prosecution raised potential reasons to question Dr. Vincent’s conclusions, noting that hallucinations and psychotic symptoms can be caused by marijuana.
The prosecutor also argued there was evidence suggesting the accused was smoking marijuana both on the day of the alleged assaults and immediately before he was taken into custody. The prosecutor also pointed to the accused’s inconsistent statements about marijuana use and his use of an alias during previous encounters with law enforcement.
In response, Dr. Vincent testified that people experiencing psychosis may still be capable of making decisions and that individuals with schizophrenia may have organized thoughts. However, she said that during psychotic episodes, a person’s judgment, memory and other cognitive abilities can be significantly impaired.
Dr. Vincent testified during cross-examination that the accused had no prior history of antisocial behavior before the alleged commission of the crimes with which he is charged. Standing alone, she said, the alleged acts were inconsistent with his prior behavior.
She went on to testify that his condition likely deteriorated because of several factors, including social isolation, an unknown family history of mental illness, being raised away from his primary caregivers and a lack of social support.
Testimony is expected to proceed as both sides further examine Dominguez’s mental condition at the time of the alleged offenses.
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