Mother was afraid son accused of killing deputy was trying to commit suicide-by-cop

UPDATE: Find out what the judge decided in the latest news story on the Deputy Dennis Wallace murder case.

Six days before the fatal shooting, the mother of a man accused of killing a Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy says she told authorities her son was behaving bizarrely, not taking his medication and might be trying to commit suicide-by-cop.

David Machado is charged with murder in the shooting of sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace. The deputy was fatally shot shortly before 8:30 a.m. Nov. 13, 2016, after he spotted a stolen van at the Fox Grove Fishing Access near Hughson.

The white van belonged to Machado’s mother, Karen Tavares. She reported her son stole her van on Nov. 7, 2016, shortly after claiming he was a U.S. Marshal. She testified that her son had been extremely depressed, paranoid and delusional for a long time.

“He was totally off the wall, speaking crazy things,” Tavares said. “I told them to be careful, he was not in his right mind.”

Tavares testified Monday morning as a preliminary hearing began for Machado in Stanislaus Superior Court. Judge Thomas Zeff will determine whether there’s enough evidence for Machado to stand trial.

Tavares said her son had been delusional since 2008. She said he would claim he was Jesus and could walk on water; Machado also claimed to own an empty lot across from her home. He was once admitted to a Stanislaus County facility for observation for three days.

She said her son had been taking medication to treat his condition but was forced to stop when their insurance would no longer cover Machado’s doctor’s visits.

Machado’s wife of 14 years had left him, taking their two children with her. Machado was living alone in a home next to his mother’s Turlock home. Tavares said her son’s paranoia led to Machado installing security cameras at his home and bracing doors with shovels, so nobody could come inside.

The mother testified that her son didn’t saying anything about involving himself in a police shootout, but she believed her son might be considering suicide-by-cop because of his depression, paranoia and delusions.

Sheriff’s Deputy Favio Topete testified that he went to Machado’s mother’s home on Nov. 7, 2016 after the reported vehicle theft. He said the mother warned that her son would not be willing to go back to prison, and that he might provoke a police shootout if they tried apprehending him.

“She was afraid that we would end up shooting him,” Topete said on the witness stand Monday.

The deadly shooting occurred at the park along the Tuolumne River near Geer and Hatch roads. Wallace radioed dispatchers that he spotted a suspicious person and a vehicle at the park. He radioed the license plate numbers and dispatchers informed the deputy that the van had been reported stolen, according to audio recordings played in court Monday.

In that situation, other sheriff’s officials on duty heard Wallace speaking to dispatchers, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Joshua Sandoval. Their responsibility is to automatically respond to assist Wallace.

Sandoval testified that Deputy Christian Torres, who was working in Waterford, responded relatively quickly to the park near Hughson. A deputy can arrive within five minutes in an emergency response from Waterford to the park.

Torres arrived at the park and found Wallace on his back on the ground next to a large pool of blood, Sandoval said. Torres then called for help.

Sandoval, who is one of the lead investigators in the homicide case, testified that shell casings were found next to Wallace. He said the driver-side door was open on Wallace’s Ford Explorer patrol vehicle. Wallace’s Taser was found on the ground near his left hand. Sandoval said Wallace’s Taser holster was on his left side.

The sheriff’s sergeant said in court that deputies will typically wait for backup but will take steps to detain a suspect alone if that suspect tries to leave.

Testimony in the preliminary hearing is expected to continue Tuesday. Machado remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.

The defendant has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, first-degree robbery, carjacking and being a felon in possession of a gun.

The carjacking charge stems from an incident in Keyes about 10 minutes after Wallace’s shooting. A white Kia was carjacked. Machado was then identified as the suspect. Authorities issued an alert asking people to look for the car, a Kia Rio, and a statewide manhunt ensued. Machado was captured several hours later in Tulare County.

On Oct. 3, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office filed an amended criminal complaint that included a charge of attempted carjacking. Prosecutors allege that Machado tried to steal a vehicle from a woman in Tulare County that day, according to the filed amended complaint.

This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 4:39 PM.