DUBLIN — Months ago, an Alameda County judge remarked she was “very compelled” by a murder defendant’s self-defense argument and stressed the “very, very real possibility” a jury would acquit him.
The actual jurors, though, didn’t seem to have much trouble accepting the prosecution’s theory. On July 17, they convicted 35-year-old Shawn Moayer of second degree murder with an enhancement for personally discharging a gun. Moayer was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm but acquitted of making criminal threats and dissuading a witness to the murder, court records show.
Just a few months ago, Moayer seemed to be in a good position to possibly beat the case. At his preliminary hearing, Judge Amy Sekany — who also presided over the trial — advanced the murder charge but emphasized the likelihood of Moayer’s eventual acquittal.
“I cannot stress enough that this court was very compelled by the defense’s arguments,” Sekany said at the hearing. “And, again, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to conceive of 12 people from our community finding this to be an act of self-defense.”
While the judge’s critique of the case wasn’t legally binding, such remarks are often seen as an early litmus test of a case that might be a close call for a jury.
But prosecutors brought Moayer to trial anyways. They didn’t deny that the victim, 36-year-old Matthew Beck, threatened Moayer with a knife during an Aug. 26, 2024 argument on the 22000 block of Santa Clara Street, at a Hayward apartment complex where both men lived.
But Deputy District Attorney Margaret Watts argued that “Mr. Beck did not advance on Mr. Moayer while making this threat,” and that afterwards, Moayer went into his home, grabbed a gun, and shot Beck from a far enough away distance that Beck wasn’t a threat to him.
After the shooting, Moayer fled and was apprehended in Union City about two weeks later, court records show. At trial, Moayer’s argued that the shooting was self-defense and that Beck was the aggressor.
Moayer faces a sentenced of 40 years to life on the murder and firearm enhancement alone.
The argument started when Beck’s girlfriend told him she was going to Moayer’s home to take a shower, according to court records. Moayer was accused of threatening the woman to prevent her from testifying after the murder.
Moayer remains at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on a no-bail hold. His sentencing has been set for Sept. 19.