Husband of Tracy candidate arrested

Oakland Tribune, Oct 17, 2006 by Mike Martinez, STAFF WRITER

TRACY -- The husband of a woman running for City Council was arrested on battery charges Sunday morning following an incident in Lincoln Park hosted by a group looking to build parks for local children.

According to police records, Julio Dominguez was booked on a misdemeanor charge of assault after a woman who works for the city's Parks and Recreation Department told police he shoved her around 9:30 a.m.

His wife, Carole Dominguez is one of eight candidates for two available seats on the Tracy City Council. In a statement issued Monday, she said she didn't condone his actions and said neither she nor her campaign had anything to do with the incident.

Tracy Police Capt. John Espinoza said Dominguez pushed the woman a couple of times and elbowed her.

"All the evidence of battery is there," Espinoza said. "The victim demanded a citizen's arrest, and we placed him in custoday. As we were about to search him, he became combative and tried to pull away. He had to be tackled to get him under control."

Espinoza said while Dominguez was being searched, a small amount of marijuana was found in his possession but he was not under the influence.

Dominguez was "uncooperative and mouthy" with the woman, according to police.

"Let the Children Play Now," a group supported and funded by developers looking to build houses in the Tracy Hills area, had reserved the gazebo area of Lincoln Park for an event, according to city officials.

Dominguez, reached at his home Monday, said he went to the park to picnic with his children and display some of his signs near the playground structures in the center of the park.

He said he had unloaded his items and was parking his car when a woman from the event began "throwing my stuff around." Dominguez, who according to records called the police first, said the woman was small and he would have to be "an animal" to assault her.

"I don't know what happened or how it happened," Dominguez said. "I was talking to the (police) sergeant when another officer walked up and said 'You're under citizen's arrest.' By that time, what can you do ?"

Dominguez said he was handcuffed in the park and hauled away in a patrol car to the Tracy Police Department where he was booked on assault charges and released.