A probationer who fatally knifed his 24-year-old half-brother and seriously injured two other men during a confrontation outside a Corona home is slated to be sentenced Friday to 24 years to life in state prison.
Brandon Joseph Barber, 32, earlier this month admitted charges of second-degree murder, 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 dropped two sentence-enhancing allegations.
The plea deal was announced just as a preliminary hearing was set to go forward at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Superior Court Judge Sean Crandell is expected to certify the terms of the agreement and impose the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
Barber, who is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, 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 that 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 — were also stabbed by the defendant, according to the sergeant.
He said that 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 had no documented prior felony convictions, though he was convicted in 2018 for misdemeanor driving under the influence.