Oakdale man accused of murder enters plea in shooting of former rodeo rider

A 27-year-old Oakdale man on Wednesday morning pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder in connection with the shooting of a 25-year-old former rodeo rider.

William Beck Usilton is accused of shooting Cody Sorensen during an argument at an Oakdale apartment last month, police officials have said. Usilton has remained in custody at the Stanislaus County jail since the deadly shooting.

The defendant had been brought to Stanislaus Superior Court twice before for his arraignment hearing, but each time the hearing was postponed.

Usilton returned to court Wednesday, and his attorney, Richard Meyer, entered the not guilty plea on behalf of his client. Meyer also denied a enhancement that alleges his client intentionally fired a gun in the crime.

Superior Court Judge Shawn Bessey scheduled Usilton to return to his courtroom on April 9 for pretrial hearing. Usilton’s bail remains set at $2.1 million.

The court — at some point — will schedule a preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s enough evidence for Usilton to stand trial.

The shooting was reported to Oakdale police about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Bonnie Villa Apartments in the 300 block of Poplar Street, just north of F Street.

Police and medics arrived at the apartment and found Sorensen with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials have said witnesses told police that Usilton was the shooter.

The defendant was found inside the apartment and taken into custody. Investigators at the scene recovered the gun believed to have been used in the shooting.

Sorensen was a bull rider, who traveled throughout California and neighboring states, his family and friends have told The Bee. About three years ago, he was seriously injured when a cow kicked a gate that hit his head. The injury ended his rodeo career.

This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 11:42 AM.