On Wednesday, prosecutors announced that a jury had found two California brothers guilty of second-degree murder for their role in the death of the groom at a wedding reception.
It has nearly two years since the incident, which occurred on December 15 2019, when Rony and Josue Castaneda arrived without invitation to the celebration of the recently married couple Joe and Esther Melgoza. It is believed that the Castaneda brothers lived nearby and heard the noise of the mariachi band, and were seen by guests dancing and socializing.
The situation turned tragic when the Castaneda brothers were asked to leave and they returned with baseball bats. They taunted Joe Melgoza, telling them to jump the fence to the side of their home. Once Melgoza and his family had done so, the brothers began to hit them with bats and fists. One of the family members managed to take a bat from one of the brothers, who consequently fled to an unrelated house.
Joe Melgoza pursued them into the yard, where he was later found by responding officers. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead due to blunt force trauma to the head.
Josue Castaneda denied being at the reception; however, when they were arrested a photo booth picture was found in his pocket which showed him, his brother and a female guest from the reception.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 13. The District Attorney Jason Anderson expressed his hope that this conviction would bring some closure to the wife and other loved ones of Joe Melgoza.