PITTSBURG — A Bay Area man has been convicted in a fatal shooting that occurred outside a known West Contra Costa drug house more than eight years ago.
Andrew Cordova, 34, was convicted this month of second degree murder in the death of 31-year-old Deon Ward, who was shot multiple times on the 2100 block of Stanton Avenue in unincorporated Montalvin Manor on the morning of Oct. 4, 2015. Cordova and Ward allegedly got into a confrontation earlier, prosecutors say, before Cordova left the area, retrieved a gun, and fired at Ward.
The case went unsolved for years. It wasn’t until 2019 that Cordova and his cousin, 27-year-old Michael Jeremy Collins, were arrested and charged with murder. Collins, accused of helping Cordova plan the killing, was released from jail with the pending murder charge last year, and remains out of custody, court records show.
Cordova’s lawyer, William Welch, said that the jury reported being deadlocked on the very first day of deliberations, but returned the verdict three days later.
“Mr. Cordova did not commit the offense for which the jury reached their verdict and a compromise is a miscarriage of justice,” Welch said.
The case against Cordova hinged on the word of witnesses, many of whom were admitted drug users.
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During the investigation police received tips that Cordova, Ward and others used to hang out at a Bonnie Drive home in Montalvin Manor that was known as “Tweek City” because it was a place where methamphetamine was readily available, day or night.
About six months before Ward was gunned down, he and Cordova allegedly had a fistfight at the Bonnie Drive home, in which Ward got the better of Cordova. Another man, known as “Bud,” jumped in to protect Cordova and punched Ward in the mouth, causing him to bleed. Ward, described by onlookers as “heavily intoxicated,” left the area, returned with a gun, and shot up cars parked in front of the residence. No arrests were made, according to court records.
After that incident, Ward apparently squared things away with Cordova, by giving his father an undisclosed amount of meth as a making-up gift. He and Cordova remained on good terms, but had a propensity to argue and “play fight” when they got drunk, informants reportedly later told police. They reportedly fought once again the night before the murder.
Cordova faces a prison sentence of 15 years to life for the second degree murder conviction alone.
