Verdicts reached in Ridgecrest murder trial
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury on Tuesday acquitted one man and found another guilty of involuntary manslaughter instead of murder in the death of a Ridgecrest man in 2022.
Both men had faced life terms in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.
Brian Coykendall, 34, was convicted of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.
His co-defendant, Erwin Moore Jr., 30, was acquitted and expected to be released from custody Tuesday evening.
They were accused of killing Matthew Ian Peterson on March 4, 2022. Peterson, 43, was severely beaten and shot once in the back of the head.
Deputy Public Defender T. Alan Rogers, Coykendall’s attorney, said the maximum his client faces is four years in prison.
“He’s relieved the nightmare is over,” Rogers said.
Rogers said his argument from the beginning was that Coykendall acted either in self-defense or imperfect self-defense against someone with a record of violence who had previously threatened him. Peterson was a convicted felon.
The attorney noted Coykendall is a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“(The Kern County Public Defender’s Office) has always been willing to stand by veterans, even as they face the most serious charges and consequences,” Rogers said.
Moore knew all along this would be the outcome, his attorney, Mark Anthony Raimondo, said Tuesday evening.
“He was keeping our spirits up,” Raimondo said. “The best evidence we had was Mr. Moore and his unbelievable quality of life.”
Moore, also a U.S. Marine, rushed to Ridgecrest to help longtime friend Coykendall after receiving a strange phone call, Raimondo said. Knowing about his PTSD, Moore believed his friend was experiencing a “crisis incident,” he said.
He had no idea what he was getting into, Raimondo said.
The attorney said he accompanied Moore to a meeting with prosecutors two years ago in which Moore told them exactly what happened. No deal was offered.
Moore went through “two years of hell” sitting in Lerdo Jail and waiting for trial, Raimondo said. Now he can start getting his life back in order, the attorney said.
“Justice is still alive in Kern County, thanks to our jurors,” he said.
Prosecutor Christine Antonios said homicide cases are often challenging because one side is no longer alive to tell their story.
“Investigations detail as much as possible in the quest for truth, but ultimately, it is the sole province of the jury to determine if charges are proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” she said. “The jury completed their duty, and we respect their ultimate verdict.”
Peterson and Coykendall were once friends. But after Peterson went to jail, Coykendall started dating his girlfriend.
Antonios said at trial Coykendall hatched a plan to kill Peterson if he returned to Ridgecrest. The evidence, she said, suggested Coykendall and Moore had an agreement in which Moore — who lives outside the county — would drive to Ridgecrest and assist Coykendall in the slaying.
Peterson was killed minutes after Moore arrived, she said. When Peterson’s body was found shortly after, his hands were bound behind his back. Surveillance video, while not showing what happened, captured his screams for help.
Raimondo told the jury what happened wasn’t murder but a tragedy. He said a fight broke out between Coykendall and Peterson after Moore arrived, and when Moore tried to break it up a gun fell from his waistband.
There was a struggle over the gun, he said. It went off, and the round struck Peterson.
Moore is a good person, Raimondo said. After this experience, however, he’s not sure Moore will help anyone ever again.
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