Judge declares mistrial in sanity trial of man who killed Stanislaus County deputy

By Erin Tracy and Patty Guerra
Modesto Bee

A judge on Thursday afternoon declared a mistrial in the sanity phase for David Machado after a jury told him they couldn’t agree on whether he was insane when he murdered Deputy Dennis Wallace.

The jury, however, did find that Machado was legally sane when he carjacked two people and attempted to carjack a third while fleeing after the murder.

The jury deliberated for just over two days. When they returned to the courtroom, Judge Thomas Zeff asked them several questions about whether more time or clarification would help them come to a decision. They all said it wouldn’t.

The forewoman told Zeff they were split 9-3 in favor of an insanity verdict for the counts of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. That was up from a 5-7 split when they first started voting.

Following the announcement, Wallace’s widow, Mercedes Wallace, left the courtroom in tears. When asked to comment on the jury’s decision she said, “not today."

Public Defender Laura Arnold did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether her office plans to seek another sanity trial for the murder charge, although it is likely.

The same jury last month found Machado guilty of the murder and the other charges then spent another seven days listening to testimony from mental health workers who treated or evaluated Machado in the years before and after the shooting.

Machado shot Wallace twice at close range after the deputy contacted him at Fox Grove Park on Nov 13, 2016. He than carjacked a couple in Ceres and attempted to carjack two people in Tulare County before he was captured by law enforcement there.

He was first diagnosed with delusional disorder in 2009. Over the years, according to testimony, Machado had persecutory delusions that the government was out to get him and his family and that it monitored him through a tracking device that was surgically implanted in his wrist.

He had delusions about being a child prodigy, about coming up with the idea for the Star Wars movies, inventing the Internet, becoming an attorney at the age of 14 and fathering 135 children all over the world, according to testimony.

Machado’s symptoms were controlled for about five years with the use of antipsychotic drugs, but he stopped taking them two years before the murder when his health insurance changed.

Defense attorney Marcus Mumford said after that Machado “self-medicated” with narcotics, which are known to exacerbate mental illness.

The defendant admitted to using methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana on the day of the murder, according to testimony.

“He didn’t have that ability to recognize reality,” Mumford said during closing arguments.

He said Machado had long feared that the government would kill him and his family and pointed out while questioning witnesses that law enforcement is part of the government.

"It wasn’t some future harm he was worried about,” Mumford said. “He was worried about getting killed in that very moment.”

But Deputy District Attorney Melissa Chichportich said that theory wasn’t supported by testimony from forensic psychologist Dr. Phil Trompetter, who interviewed Machado just seven days after the “execution style” shooting.

“Not once after he pulled that trigger two times did he tell Dr. Trompetter that the police were out to get him or his family,” she said during closing arguments.

She pointed to testimony that Machado knew he had a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear at his trial on a different felony case, and that he told several people he would “shoot it out” with police.

“He killed Deputy Dennis Wallace for one reason and one reason only,” Chichportich said. “He wasn’t going to go back to jail."

After excusing the jury, Zeff scheduled Machado to return to court April 21. They will discuss whether Machado can be sentenced for the carjacking and attempted carjacking charges with the murder charge pending. He remains incarcerated in the county jail without bail.

https://www.modbee.com/news/local/cr...250635784.html