Fremont murder case pleads out; victim slashed suspect’s throat before he was killed, docs reveal

DUBLIN — A Fremont man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing another man during an intense confrontation, minutes after the victim slashed the suspect’s throat with a utility knife, court records show.

Eddie Moses, 42, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the Feb. 16 2023 stabbing death of Mario Molinari. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Moses, court records show.

A defense sentencing memo says that before Molinari was killed, he slashed Moses’ throat with a knife, causing a six-inch gash along his throat. Afterward, police say Moses chased down Molinai, smashed him with a huge rock, then stabbed him to death. He continued stabbing until a bystander intervened, authorities said.

The incident occurred near a gas station on Paseo Padre Parkway, court records show. The defense sentencing memo says that at the time of the stabbing, Molinari was wanted by police for a “violent criminal history and … association with the Aryan Brotherhood.”

The memo also says that Moses had been living on the streets and experienced hallucinations as a symptom of mental illness.

“Sleeping on the streets exposed Eddie to various unavoidable threats and he reports that he was shot, robbed and physically assaulted by strangers,” the memo says.

Moses will receive credit for the nearly three years he spent behind bars when the case was pending. His next hearing has been set for March, when a judge will determine how much restitution he owes to Molinari’s next of kin.