19+ years for parolee who injured officers during Shasta College melee

SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. — A Redding man was sentenced to more than 19 years in state prison earlier today, after recently pleading guilty to charges related to a violent, trespassing-related incident at Shasta College last year that left three officers hospitalized with serious injuries.

The man involved in the April, 2019 attack was already on parole for assault with a deadly weapon and was classified as a “high-risk” offender when he attacked Redding police officers and campus security officials who were trying to remove the trespassing suspect from the college grounds.

All three seriously injured officers were hospitalized and two required surgeries after the violent incident, including a Shasta HS school resource officer who spent five months recuperating from her “significant” injuries.

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David Wuco, 30, was sentenced to 19 years, 4 months in state prison, after previously pleading guilty to three counts of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury on a peace officer and admitting to two special allegations; including causing great bodily injury, officials from the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office said today in a social media release.

Wuco, who already had a prior strike conviction and served a five-year prison sentence for a previous assault with a deadly weapon case, will be required to serve 85% of his sentence, according to the DA’s release.

David Wuco was sentenced to more than 19 years in state prison for an April, 2019 attack at Shasta College that hospitalized three Redding police officers with serious injuries. RPD photo

As reported by SCNS last year, the violent incident began around 7:45 a.m. the morning of April 23, 2019, after Redding police officers were called to Shasta County College to assist campus security personnel in removing Wuco from the location.

Wuco had been ordered to stay off the campus grounds and property the previous day, when school officials and campus security personnel “attempted to serve Wuco with paperwork ordering him to stay off campus while they investigated sexual misconduct allegations against him,” Redding Police Sgt. G. Meadows reported at the time.

Wuco refused to accept the paperwork and ultimately left the campus without further incident, according to Meadows.

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“Due to Wuco’s violent history and the fact he is on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, multiple Redding police officers responded to assist Shasta College with his removal,” explained Meadows.

Once at the college, “officers asked Wuco several times to leave the campus but he refused,” Meadows continued; saying, “When officers attempted to physically remove him, he quickly jumped up from his chair, put up his fists, and took a fighting stance.”

During the ensuing melee, Wuco “punched multiple officers in the facial area causing significant injuries to three officers,” according to Meadows.

A subsequent emergency call for help from one of the injured officers brought RPD and CHP officers flooding onto the campus from around the city and surrounding areas and officials were eventually able to get the violently resisting man into custody.

A long road to recovery for one officer

Last September, after spending five months recovering from her serious injuries and related surgeries, the most seriously injured officer, RPD School Resource Officer Eva Smith, was finally able to return to her position at Shasta High School; much to the delight of the students, teachers, and other school administrators and staff.

Redding PD Officer Eva Smith spent five months recuperating after last April’s violent encounter. When she finally returned to her position as school resource officer at Shasta High School she was treated to a welcome back party in her honor. RPD photo

Upon her return, the dedicated and well-loved school resource officer was surprised with a heartfelt welcome back party, which was attended by then Police Chief Roger Moore and other Redding PD patrol and school resource officers, along with school staff and students.

“Today, we’re here at Shasta High School to celebrate the return of one of our companions, our coworker, our friend, our family, Officer Smith,” RPD Officer Josiah Ferrin said at the time in a short video announcing Smith’s return to work that was shared to social media.

The celebration in her honor even included a cake, complete with a photo of Smith as the fictional superhero, “Wonder Woman.”

“I honestly got overcome with emotion and I had to hold it together,” Smith explained at the time.

“Just, my department and my school … that love they have for me is very genuine,” continued Smith. “I felt it.”

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.