Slain Deputy Laid To Rest

By Bill Johnson Published May 28, 2002 05:10 pm Updated Jan 31, 2009 05:27 pm

A Fresno County sheriff´s deputy shot in the face during a routine traffic stop has been laid to rest. More than 12,000 people attended a memorial service for Dennis Phelps. Representatives of more than 100 law enforcement agencies, from Sacramento to Reno, Nevada, attended.

Phelps worked for the sheriff for years as a court bailiff, but had just begun patrolling the streets when he was shot May 19th.

The suspect in Phelps´ death, Mark Charles Volpa of Clovis, was fatally shot Saturday after a four-hour standoff with a SWAT team. The 21-year-old had led police a six-day manhunt.

Phelps was the second Fresno deputy killed in the line of duty in the past nine months. Deputy Erik Telen was gunned down August 21st while investigating a burglary in Dunlap.