Keith Simmons testifies shooting was accidental in Yuma murder trial

Keith Simmons took the stand in Yuma County Superior Court and told jurors the shooting at the center of his murder trial was accidental. The 20-year-old is charged with second-degree murder and unlawful discharge of a firearm in the August 2024 death of his friend, 19-year-old Eduardo Dominguez, and his testimony immediately put the case on a credibility test.

Simmons said the gun malfunctioned after he handed it to Dominguez. He also told the court the two friends had been shooting the gun recreationally before the fatal incident, a detail that frames the case as a deadly turn in what began as casual gun use. Jurors now must decide whether that account creates reasonable doubt about intent, or whether the state’s evidence shows the shooting was something other than an accident.

Dominguez died in a Phoenix-area hospital on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, after the shooting. Yuma police had already described the case publicly as an accidental shooting and arrested two men in the days after the incident. That early framing now sits at the center of the trial, as Simmons asks the jury to accept that the gun’s malfunction, not intent, caused Dominguez’s death.

The charge structure has also evolved over the course of the case. In April 2025, Simmons appeared out of custody in court while negotiations were ongoing, and he was then facing four felony counts, including two aggravated assault charges. By the time of his testimony Tuesday, the case had narrowed to the murder count and the unlawful discharge allegation, making the jury’s job even more focused on what happened in those moments before the shooting.

For Yuma County jurors, the question is not just whether a tragedy occurred, but whether the evidence proves a criminal killing beyond a reasonable doubt. Simmons’ decision to testify put his version of the event directly in front of the panel, and the verdict will turn on whether they believe the shooting was an accident or a homicide.