High school teacher faces charge in shooting death of Oakdale woman
A high school teacher was arrested on an accessory charge Wednesday in the September shooting death of Katrina Allen of Oakdale.
Nikkole Scruggs, 30, of Oakdale is accused of concealing evidence for murder suspect Stephen Frederick, 28, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Scruggs also helped Frederick by letting him stay in her home and giving him rides before his Nov. 4 arrest, the release said.
Scruggs was arrested at her home at about 10 a.m. Wednesday. She was booked into Stanislaus County Jail and released on $25,000 bail.
Scruggs is a teacher at Edison High School in Stockton, according to the release and the school website. The department did not disclose the relationship between her and Frederick.
An earlier release said Allen, 39, died after she was dropped off with a gunshot wound at the Oak Valley Hospital emergency room on the night of Sept. 26.
The Oakdale Police Department initially responded but turned the case over to sheriff’s detectives after learning that the shooting was just east of the city.
Allen was shot on the 2300 block of Twildo Road, just west of Stearns Road and south of Highway 108-120, the release said. A spokesman said last month that the victim knew the suspect, but he declined to discuss a motive or other details.
Frederick was arrested nearly six weeks later at a home where he was staying on Poplar Street in downtown Oakdale, a news release said. He surrendered just as a SWAT team was assembling, the spokesman said.
Frederick remains in the county jail on $3 million bail. He was arraigned Nov. 11 in Stanislaus Superior Court and will return for a pretrial hearing March 12.
People with information about Allen’s death can call Detective Silva at 209-525-7091 or Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips also can be submitted via www.stancrimetips.org.
