Law Enforcement Life and Life Only

Beloved Stanislaus Deputy Executed & California Grieves

Celeste Fremon
Written by Celeste Fremon

STANISLAUS AND BEYOND GRIEVES THE MURDER OF DEVOTED DEPUTY

Deputy Dennis Wallace, 53, was a 20-year veteran of the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department and was well-known in the community for his involvement in youth soccer, as a referee for local football games, for his work to help keep kids off drugs, and for his calm, dedication to his work in law enforcement.

Deputy Wallace was killed on Sunday morning after he entered a county fishing access in Stanislaus County’s Fox Grove Park to investigate a suspicious van that dispatchers said was stolen. He requested that another police unit be sent to the scene, but Wallace was dead by the time the second unit arrived, shot execution style in the head outside the vehicles. The suspect, David Machado, who is now in custody, was wanted on a felony warrant at the time of the traffic stop, and was captured after after he carjacked a motorist, robbed a liquor store, then attempted to snatch a purse from a woman in Tulare County, who called the cops.

“He was just one of the happiest guys there was. And even in hard times he was smiling. If we could just learn from that… that the sun is going to shine tomorrow and evil will not win,” said Dave Wallace, Deputy Wallace’s younger brother, at a spontaneous gathering that drew thousands on Sunday night to honor the slain deputy.

WitnessLA grieves along with California at the loss of Deputy Dennis Wallace, who leaves behind his wife and children.

6 Comments

Leave a Comment