Man shot by Stanislaus County deputy in Denair is a doctor, was arrested in 2019
The man shot by a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy on Sunday is a doctor who had a run in with police last year, according to public records.
Seo Myong Yang, 79, was shot when he drove a tractor off his property just south of Denair and toward a deputy and a citizen.
He suffered injuries that were not life threatening and was charged Friday with assault with a deadly weapon on a woman at the scene as well as assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, Deputy Jonathan Buck.
Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Luke Schwartz said Friday that Buck, a four year veteran, was at the scene with Deputy Michael Wilson, a three year veteran. He said Wilson is the deputy who fired.
According to public records from the California Medical Board, Yang is a physician and surgeon with a valid license that expires in October 2021.
Public records show Yang at one point worked at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock. Krista Deans, a spokesperson for the hospital, said Yang does not currently work there and did not know when or if he did previously.
Deputies had been at Yang’s home in the 1700 block of North Gratton Road earlier in the evening Sunday after he reportedly was in the street holding a 2x4, yelling profanities and blocking vehicles from passing.
He refused to talk to deputies when they came to his home but his wife told them she would seek mental health counseling for him.
Deputies were called back to the scene about 30 minutes later as Yang’s behavior was becoming more erratic. They found Yang driving a Bobcat tractor in an unsafe manner.
Deputies tried to engage him in conversation and negotiation, but he refused to cooperate or comply with instructions they were giving, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
They left the property to avoid an altercation but stayed on the roadway.
Yang continued to drive the tractor and eventually crashed through a fence, driving onto Gratton Road and toward a deputy and a citizen.
Wilson fired multiple rounds, hitting Yang at least once. He spent several days in the hospital before being booked into the Stanislaus County Jail, where he remains with bail set at $50,000.
Attempts to reach Yang’s wife, and the citizen, were unsuccessful.
Yang was arrested in January 2019 for similar belligerent behavior that resulted in a battery charge.
He was reportedly intoxicated at a billiards hall in Turlock when he allegedly threw an empty beer pitcher toward his wife and grabbed an employee by the arm and moved her out of the way when she intervened.
The case was ultimately dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Department is expected to release body camera footage of the shooting some time next week.
Yang is scheduled to be arraigned on the assault charge Tuesday.
