The Latest: Not guilty plea in California deputy’s death

MODESTO, Calif. – The Latest on the fatal shooting of a California sheriff’s deputy (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

A Northern California man denies that he gunned down an on-duty Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy.

David Machado pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Modesto courtroom. He’s charged with the first-degree murder of Deputy Dennis Wallace on Sunday.

Wallace reported to dispatchers that he spotted a parked van. When he learned it was stolen, the deputy requested backup. Fellow deputies found him shot twice in the head.

The charges make 37-year-old Machado eligible for a death sentence. Prosecutors, however, haven’t said what punishment they’ll seek.

Machado was free on bail at the time of the shooting. He remains in jail on the murder charge with no possibility of release on bail.

A public defender assigned to represent Machado did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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1:15 p.m.

A California man with a criminal record was free on bail when prosecutors say he shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy in the line of duty, according to charges filed Tuesday.

David Machado, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace on Sunday near Modesto, then stealing a car to drive 150 miles to a small town where he was arrested after trying to steal a woman’s purse.

The charges make Machado eligible for a death sentence. Prosecutors in the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, however, have not said what punishment they intend to seek. Machado is expected in court Tuesday to hear the charges for the first time.

Machado is also charged with first-degree robbery, carjacking and being a felon in possession of a gun. He had been convicted in 2009 of a felony for possessing a dangerous weapon, the complaint says, without specifying the type of weapon.