Machado enters not guilty plea in sheriff’s deputy’s death

Stanislaus County’s top law enforcement official stared intently at David Machado as the man accused of fatally shooting a sheriff’s deputy entered a courtroom Tuesday afternoon.

Machado didn’t look back at District Attorney Birgit Fladager as he took his seat a few feet away from her. He looked around the courtroom audience, his gaze finding two women sitting in the front row reserved for members of his family.

After bailiffs told Machado to keep his eyes front, he said something that seemed directed at his two relatives. The defendant said, “See what you’ve done to me.”

The relationship of the two women to Machado was unclear; they declined to answer reporters’ questions after the hearing and left the courthouse. Attempts by The Modesto Bee to speak to Machado’s family at his mother’s Turlock home were not successful.

Machado, who is accused of gunning down Stanislaus County sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace, pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

His two court-appointed attorneys entered the plea on his behalf, along with denying enhancements to his charges and a special circumstance allegation that could lead to the death penalty if he is convicted.

The deputy was killed Sunday morning after he spotted a stolen van near Hughson. Wallace, 53, was a 20-year veteran at the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, assigned to Salida, the courthouse and most recently Hughson. Authorities say Wallace was shot in the head twice at close range.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Sonny Sandhu and Deputy Public Defender Maureen Keller represented Machado on Tuesday. They told the judge it’s unclear whether they will remain on the case or other attorneys in their office will be assigned to defend Machado.

Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne will be the lead prosecutor in the murder case. Fladager, who typically serves as an administrator and has attorneys in her office prosecute criminal cases, assisted Mayne on Tuesday.

Prosecutors on Tuesday morning filed a criminal complaint against Machado. The murder charge comes with a special circumstance allegation that makes the case eligible for the death penalty. Mayne told the judge that the District Attorney’s Office has not decided whether it will seek the death penalty against Machado and will inform the court of that decision at a later date.

Since this is potentially a capital murder case, Mayne asked the judge to keep Machado in custody without bail set. The defense didn’t object, but Keller told the judge they will request a bail review hearing for their client at a later date if necessary.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff ordered Machado to remain in custody without bail. He scheduled Machado to return to court Nov. 21 for a pretrial hearing.

Machado is being held at the Tuolumne County jail. Authorities explained that when a crime victim is a law enforcement official, it’s typical for other agencies to offer to house the suspect as a courtesy and avoid any possible appearance of impropriety.

Plenty of security

Tuesday’s tension-filled hearing lasted about 15 minutes. A few dozen sheriff’s deputies provided security. Modesto police closed 11th Street in front of the downtown Modesto courthouse for most of the day, anticipating a large group of people wanting to attend the hearing.

About a dozen sheriff’s deputies sat in the courtroom audience to support their fallen colleague. They were joined by staff members from the District Attorney’s Office and news reporters. Wallace’s family did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.

Before the hearing started, bailiffs asked the defense attorneys to sit near the jury box and not talk to Machado until after the court appointed them to represent the defendant. Machado was still represented by Peter Chang on an unrelated pending criminal case, but the attorney has since filed a motion to be relieved from defending Machado.

After they were appointed to the case, Sandhu and Keller went into a nearby holding cell to speak to their client privately. The defense attorneys returned to their seats about 10 minutes later, ready for the arraignment to begin, but Machado remained in the holding cell.

It’s unclear what was happening, but apparently Machado was refusing or unable to return to the courtroom. The defense attorneys left the courtroom again to speak to their client. Shortly after, the attorneys and their client returned to the courtroom without any further disruption.

Machado is charged with murder, first-degree robbery, carjacking and being a felon in possession of a gun. Two enhancements have been added to Machado’s murder charge, accusing him of acting with premeditation and using a gun to kill Wallace. The defendant also faces enhancements of using a gun in the thefts.

Machado skipped trial

Chang represented Machado in an August 2014 case in which he was charged with negligent discharge of a gun and unlawfully possessing a gun. Machado was ordered to stand trial on the gun possession charge, and the other charge was dropped. But Machado failed to appear for his Oct. 31 trial, so the judge issued a bench warrant for him.

Machado was still wanted on that felony warrant when the deadly shooting occurred; he faces an additional enhancement because of this. The enhancements could lengthen the defendant’s prison sentence if he is convicted.

Wallace was shot to death shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Fox Grove Fishing Access near Hughson. Wallace was alone, in uniform and driving a marked patrol car when he spotted the suspicious van. When a dispatcher advised him that the van had been reported stolen, Wallace asked for backup. Seconds later, he was shot.

Sheriff Adam Christianson has said evidence shows a gun was held to the head of Wallace and the trigger was pulled twice. He called the deputy’s killing an “execution.”

At 8:40 a.m., a white Kia was carjacked about 8 miles away near Keyes. Machado was then identified as the suspect, Christianson said. Authorities issued an alert asking people to look for the car, a Kia Rio. A statewide manhunt ensued.

Nearly four hours later, authorities say, Machado tried to rob a woman near a convenience store in Lindsay, about 150 miles south of Hughson. About 12:30 p.m., Christianson said, Lindsay police caught Machado, in an alley and on foot, after the attempted theft. The officers quickly identified Machado as the suspect in the deputy’s killing by photographs and his tattoos.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Machado enters not guilty plea in sheriff’s deputy’s death."