WOODLAND, Calif. — Testimony this week in Yolo County Superior Court before Judge Samuel T. McAdam detailed significant institutional delays in providing critical psychiatric treatment to a severely deteriorating defendant, raising questions about the handling of serious mental health crises in custody.
The accused, Carlos Reales Dominguez, is currently facing a high-profile retrial on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder following a previous mistrial. The proceedings have increasingly focused on the defendant’s mental state and how his medical care was managed administratively after his initial arrest in May 2023.
During Dominguez’s enrollment in her class, poetry professor Ms. Mendez testified that she saw “something was wrong” with him. Mendez recalled that his quiz answers lacked thoroughness and detail, indicating that the accused struggled significantly with abstract thinking before his arrest.
Dr. Patricia Tyler, a psychiatrist with extensive experience in correctional clinical services, testified about her assessment of Dominguez at the Yolo County Jail in May 2023. Tyler said the accused appeared noticeably unbathed, with uncombed hair, and she initially recommended emergency antipsychotic medication because he was refusing to eat or drink.
According to Tyler, Dominguez refused voluntary medication, behavior she said is common among individuals suffering from schizophrenia. Tyler formally recommended emergency involuntary medication on June 21, 2023, but quickly encountered administrative obstacles within the jail’s medical management system.
Tyler testified that the nurse in charge, Rosemary Gladin, overruled and delayed the initial medication recommendation. A colleague, Dr. Dalmocy, later agreed the situation was urgent, but jail staff gave conflicting accounts of whether the treatment had been administered, and several weeks passed before it was provided. From June 21 until July 10, Dominguez did not receive the recommended antipsychotic medication.
Tyler testified that she resigned from her position at Yolo County Jail because she believed management was operating in an unsafe manner. Under cross-examination, she stood by her schizophrenia diagnosis, noting that Dominguez’s lengthy period of incarceration made drug-induced psychosis treatment impossible.
Amy Gutierrez, a clinical social worker for WellPath, testified that she evaluated Dominguez on May 4, 2023, after he was placed on suicide watch. According to Gutierrez, the watch was a standard safety measure because it was his first arrest and the charges were so serious.
Gutierrez observed that Dominguez exhibited a rigid posture, stiff body movements, a flat affect and guarded speech, all of which she identified as classic clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. While in the infirmary on suicide watch, Dominguez was placed in a tight Velcro suit and stripped of all personal belongings except for a single blanket.
The defense questioned Gutierrez about the jail’s safety protocols, which were so strict that Dominguez had to eat his meals with his bare hands because the jail prohibited utensils. Gutierrez confirmed that Dominguez spent his time in isolation staring at a wall, with only one hour per day in a common area to shower and brush his teeth.
Jail flow sheets presented during the hearing documented a severe physical decline during this period of isolation. Medical records indicated that Dominguez’s body weight dropped from 111 pounds on June 21 to 108 pounds by June 26.
Testimony for the week concluded, and the court adjourned, closing out the seventh week of what is expected to be a 12-week trial. Gutierrez is expected to return to the witness stand Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. for cross-examination. The court hopes to move into a second phase of deliberations by mid-July and conclude the trial by Aug. 7.
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