SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (KNX) – Two brothers were convicted of murdering a groom at his wedding reception in Chino.
On Feb. 9, a jury found Rony and Josue Castaneda guilty of second-degree murder, as well as assault with a deadly weapon, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
In the early morning of Dec. 15, 2019, just hours after Joe and Esther Melgoza got married, a reception was held at a family residence. The Casteneda brothers, whom officials said had no apparent connection to the wedding party, crashed the reception where they were seen “socializing, dancing and taking photos with female guests.”
The brothers left the reception but returned using the trail behind the house and stood behind the fence.
“ Standing in the dark behind a fence they made antagonizing statements to Melgoza to jump over the fence to their side, “officials said in a press release. “ Once Melgoza and his family jumped the fence, the brothers began hitting them all with bats and fists.”
A relative took away the bat from one of the brothers, who ran off with Melgoza following them. A few minutes later, the brothers were seen leaving the house with a bat.
When officers with the Chino Police Department arrived, Melgoza was found dead. His cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
While Josue Castaneda denied attending the reception, officers found a photo booth photo of both brothers with a female guest in Castaneda’s front pocket. Officers also used Snapchat information to help tie the brothers to the reception.
The brothers will be sentenced on March 13 at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
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