GRASS VALLEY – During the last week of May, criminalists from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) respond with a mobile crime lab to the scene of a double murder in Nevada County, as requested by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.

“Criminalists are on call to assist local law enforcement departments with processing crime scenes for evidence,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.   “These professionals see horrific things on the job, things that most would citizens would never want to see.  We know that can take a toll and we thank California DOJ criminalists for their professionalism and their service.”

Shortly before 11:00 p.m. on May 27, 2020, a man called 911 call from a home on Greenhorn Road and stated he needed the police to respond and hung up the phone. Dispatchers attempted to call back the man several times with no answer. Deputies were immediately dispatched to the residence for a welfare check.

Upon arrival, deputies were met outside of the home by a male subject who was later identified as Dennis Wallace, 60, of Grass Valley. Wallace was sitting on the deck of the home and appeared to be agitated, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies detained Wallace and then searched the home where they located a man and a woman, Robert Breedlove, 87 and Patricia Breedlove, 80,
deceased inside.  The couple appeared to have died from blunt force trauma.

Through investigation, it was determined that Wallace is the son of the female victim and the step-son of the male victim. Wallace was arrested on two counts of murder.