Hayward man convicted of murder, months after judge doubted case

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 as much trouble accepting the prosecution s theory On July they convicted -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 minimal months ago Moayer seemed to be in a good position to possibly beat the matter 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 declared at the hearing And again it would not be a stretch of the imagination to conceive of people from our public finding this to be an act of self-defense While the judge s critique of the scenario wasn t legally binding such remarks are often seen as an early litmus test of a development that might be a close call for a jury But prosecutors brought Moayer to trial anyways They didn t deny that the victim -year-old Matthew Beck threatened Moayer with a knife during an Aug argument on the 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 years to life on the murder and firearm enhancement alone The argument started when Beck s girlfriend advised 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