A Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy that fired the shots that killed a Modesto woman in Ripon in 2017 may finally see his day in court.

Justin Wall, who was only 24 when he was involved in a pursuit from Stanislaus County into Ripon following 46-year-old Evin Olsen Yadegar, was charged with manslaughter by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for his role in the woman’s death.

Yadegar, who led police on a slow-speed chase from Salida into Ripon and eventually came to a stop on South Manley Avenue, began to back up before pulling forward drive around a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department vehicle when Wall stepped forward and began firing shots from his service weapon to try and stop the vehicle.

The incident was captured on a dashboard camera.

One of the bullets struck Yadegar in the chest and she eventually drove the vehicle – a white Volkswagen – into a home on nearby Tornell Circle, dying minutes later.

Out of six Stanislaus County deputies and three Ripon police officers, Wall was the only one who fired his service weapon.

Yadegar was the owner of the popular Barkin’ Dog Grill in Downtown Modesto at the time of her death and left behind a husband a 9-year-old son. Her husband had reported to authorities that she was missing and suffering from a bipolar episode. He feared that she could be a danger to herself.

After months of delays attributed to the pandemic and a change of counsel, the case is set to go to trial next month after a precarious December where Wall’s attorney attempted to get the entire case tried by another agency – citing San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar’s recent activism as a sign that his client could not receive a fair trial if tried by her office.

Verber Salazar made headlines last year when she joined up with other progressive-minded district attorneys throughout California and the nation to form the Prosecutor’s Alliance – taking stands on issues such as the death penalty and refusing to accept political donations from law enforcement agencies in the wake of the George Floyd protests last summer.

The California Attorney General’s Office, which would have to step in and prosecute the case if it were found that San Joaquin County could not reasonably try Wall fairly, stepped in on behalf of Verber Salazar to oppose the defense motion – claiming that there is no evidence that he would not receive a fair trial in San Joaquin County and anything to the contrary was purely speculation.

Stanislaus County settled a lawsuit brought by Yadegar’s family for $7 million in 2019, although the City of Ripon did not initially agree to settle in the case – arguing that their officers, who did not fire any shots, were not responsible for how the incident culminated.

Ripon eventually agreed to pay $125,000 without admitting any fault or liability in Yadegar’s death.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.