- Two brothers who were accused of murdering
a groom just hours after he said I do have been convicted.
31-year-old Rony Castaneda and his 22-year-old brother Josue
were convicted of second degree murder
by a jury on February 9th for the death of Joe Melgoza.
This, according to the San Bernardino County District
Attorney's Office, which stated in a press release
that they were also found guilty of assault
with a deadly weapon for injuries
that Melgoza's brother suffered.
KTLA previously reported that on December 14th 2019 Melgoza
was celebrating his nuptials in a family member's
backyard in Chino, California.
And later that night he was attacked at his wedding
reception in the wee hours of December 15th
by the uninvited Castaneda brothers.
According to the DA's office, the brothers
lived nearby and likely heard the festivities
and went to the backyard reception
where they were seen dancing and snapping photos with women
who were at the party.
The DA says the brothers then left, but returned later
threw a trail behind the home.
Prosecutors claimed the brothers stood behind a fence
and taunted Melgoza to jump over.
According to the release after Melgoza and his family
jumped the fence a fight ensued with bats.
Police first responded to the scene
for a family member who had been injured,
but they later discovered Melgoza's body
in the yard of an unrelated residence near the reception.
According to the release, Melgoza
had died within minutes of suffering
blunt force trauma to the head.
Authorities noted that Josue told police he was never
at the reception, however a photo booth image of him
and Rony posing with a female guest
was found in his front pocket after his arrest.
Snapchat also played a role in helping authorities
find Josue and Rony.
The brothers are set to be sentenced on March 13th.