Local Deputy Shot & Killed

Local+Deputy+Shot+%26+Killed

Aurora Coria (12th), Reporter

What was supposed to be an inspection a suspicious van took a turn for the worse when Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Dennis Wallace was brutally shot and killed during the line of duty.

In the city of Hughson, Deputy Wallace was informed by a dispatcher that the van he was viewing was stolen, so as any man would do, he called for backup.

It would be only a short while later when an officer would find Wallace on the ground after having been shot two times in the head. He was hurried to the hospital where he passed away. county Sheriff Adam Christianson labeled the event as “an execution” (The Modesto Bee).

After fleeing from the crime in the van and carjacking a Kia on the way, thirty-six year old David Machado was taken into custody when he was found in Tulare county.

From the time of the homicide to the time of the capture, Machado managed to commit an “armed robbery in the town of Lindsay” as well as attempt to steal a local woman’s purse. She fought him off and proceeded to call the police, who later arrested him.

The Lindsay police did not recognize the man, they only discovered he was wanted when they caught a glimpse of his tattoos and compared it to a picture they recently saw.

Since the arrest, Machado has pleaded not guilty in the murder of Deputy Wallace, in fact, his attorney is asking for a mental health evaluation, which he was granted. It will be conducted later on to see if he is mentally stable enough to stand trial for his crime against late Deputy Dennis Wallace.

At a young age of fifty-three, Wallace had worked in total a great twenty years at his department. On the night of his death, hundreds of city residents, including police officers, came together at a park that was near the deputy when he died. Together, they mourned.

Not only did he affect the lives of his colleagues, but the community around him as well. Sadie Heras, a senior at a local high school, knew Deputy Wallace as a neighborhood friend and soccer coach.

“When I first heard the news I was in complete shock. I couldn’t believe that such an amazing man was taken from us in a horrible way.”

She points out that Wallace had a big impact in her life, “not just as serving the town, but also as a coach and a great neighbor.”

An open memorial service for the fallen deputy is to be held in Modesto on November 22nd.