A probationer who fatally knifed his 24-year-old half-brother and seriously injured two other men during a confrontation outside a Corona home pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and other offenses.
Brandon Joseph Barber, 32, admitted the murder count, along with aggravated mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon, under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors have agreed to drop two sentence-enhancing allegations.
The plea deal was announced just as a preliminary hearing was set to begin at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Superior Court Judge Sean Crandell scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 1.
Barber is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
He killed Jesse Maturino on the afternoon of April 15, 2019.
According to Corona police Sgt. Chad Fountain, Barber became enraged with Maturino for undisclosed reasons as the two men stood outside the victim’s residence in the 1300 block of Turquoise Drive, near Zircon Street.
Fountain said the defendant pulled a knife and plunged it into Maturino, who collapsed in the middle of the street.
Two other men who tried to intervene — then-47-year-old Miguel Maturino and then-23-year-old Alex Necoeche — also were stabbed by the defendant, according to the sergeant.
He said witnesses called 911, and officers converged on the location within a couple of minutes, taking Barber into custody without a struggle.
Jesse Maturino was pronounced dead by paramedics, while Miguel Maturino and Necoeche were taken to Corona Regional Medical Center in serious but stable condition, according to police. They both recovered from their wounds.
According to court records, Barber has no documented prior felony convictions, though he was convicted in 2018 for misdemeanor driving under the influence.