Proceedings reshuffled in inmate's murder, attempted murder cases
A Solano County Superior Court trial date is still pending for a 30-year-old man accused of trying to kill a Solano County Jail guard more than two years ago. His jury trial date on charges of killing a fellow transient more than four years ago in Fairfield remains on track.
On the murder charge, Derek Edward Dunlap Jr., who appeared in court May 18, will face a newly rescheduled trial readiness conference at 8:30 a.m. July 22, a trial management conference at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 5, and a jury trial at 9 a.m. Sept. 6, all in Department 23 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.
Dunlap, also charged with trying to kill a Solano County Jail guard Feb. 8, 2020, faces a rescheduled readiness conference and trial setting at 8:30 a.m. July 22 on the attempted murder charge. The hearings will be in Department 23, Judge John B. Ellis' courtroom.
Fairfield criminal defense attorney Sal Giambona represents Dunlap, who has denied all allegations in both cases. Senior Deputy District Attorney Julie Underwood leads the prosecution.
Dunlap is accused of the attempted premeditated murder of a custodial officer, felony assault upon a female custodial officer and resisting, obstructing and delaying a peace officer during a Feb. 8 attack in the Stanton Correctional Facility on Clay Bank Road in Fairfield.
According to court records from a preliminary hearing, Dunlap was out of his cell that day pretending to use the phones in the middle of the jail module. He allegedly laid in wait for the jail guard, described as “petite,” to pass under the stairs that separated the phones from the cells.
Once her back was turned, Dunlap ran directly at her and grabbed her throat before she could see him coming. He got the officer in a chokehold from behind and attempted to choke her.
However, another custodial officer heard the commotion from upstairs and came running to help her. Using a baton, he was able to get Dunlap to release her.
Dunlap then began to assault that officer. Other correctional officers came running to render help and were able to subdue him.
Further testimony from the hearing showed Dunlap was wearing a pair of shoes that he usually did not wear, according to a press release issued by Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams. Such shoes are typically worn when inmates intend to fight.
The defendant also was found to have a makeshift “body armor and jockstrap” covering his genitals. According to the correctional officers, Abrams noted in the prepared statement, these are used when an inmate seeks to protect himself from harm during a fight.
Dunlap allegedly was heard by a number of officers to say, “You were lucky you were there. You saved her life,” and “You're lucky you saved her this time.”
Detective Christopher Cavazos investigated the case.
If convicted at trial on the charges, Dunlap could face as much as 30 years to life, separate from the murder charges.
In the murder case, Dunlap was a Fairfield transient at the time he allegedly fatally stabbed another transient in 2018 in Fairfield and was later confined for a time to a state hospital after legal proceedings.
At the time, Judge Robert Bowers' decision came after a mental health placement review and an order to show cause.
It also came after Bowers committed Dunlap to the Department of State Hospitals for a maximum term of life Jan. 14, 2020.
Court records indicate Giambona, at one point in 2019, had doubted his client's ability to understand court proceedings and requested a report under the mental competency statute.
Referred to MHM Services Inc. in Vallejo, a secure facility, Dunlap earlier had faced a mental competency evaluation. A doctor had apparently deemed him competent to stand trial, according to court records.
Court records available online indicated Bowers certified Dunlap's mental competency Oct. 26, 2020, and criminal proceedings were reinstated Nov. 2, 2020.
In the murder case, Dunlap faces one count of firstdegree murder with malice aforethought, with a special allegation of torture, an enhancement that could, if he is convicted, result in the death penalty or a prison sentence of life without the chance of parole. Dunlap also faces one charge of brandishing a deadly weapon in a threatening manner.
He is accused of killing 28-year-old Alexander Lind, 28, of Benicia, whose body was found Feb. 20, 2018, in the 1200 block of Empire Street. Police say Lind was stabbed several times during a dispute.
According to police, Dunlap and Lind knew one another. Dunlap was arrested without incident the next day after a bystander recognized him from a suspect photograph posted by the Fairfield Police Department.
Discussions during Dunlap's first court date revealed he had a previous conviction out of Santa Cruz County.