Judge dismisses special circumstances in Antioch murder case in wake of racist text scandal

MARTINEZ, Calif. - A Contra Costa County judge has dismissed special-circumstances enhancements against four people accused of murder in Antioch.

In an order issued Monday, Judge David Goldstein dismissed the enhancements against co-defendants Eric Windom, Terryon Pugh, Keyshawn McGee, and Trent Allen, taking away life without the possibility of parole as a potential outcome.

The East Bay Times first reported the development. 

Anthony Ashe, an attorney for one of the accused men, confirmed the order to KTVU.

Goldstein is expected to explain why at a court hearing on Friday.

The four were arrested in 2021 and charged with murder and attempted murder, along with allegations they committed the crimes to benefit an Oakland-based gang.

The following year, the FBI and the Contra Costa County District Attorney began investigating more than a dozen Antioch and Pittsburg police officers for crimes of "moral turpitude." That led to officers' phones being confiscated. Investigators discovered that Antioch police officers had texted racist, sexist, and homophobic text messages, some of which referred to the defendants in the case. 

Goldstein’s decision marks the third time in California history that Contra Costa County has been the subject of a landmark decision over a law enforcement violation of the Racial Justice Act, the East Bay Times reported.

Goldstein has previously dismissed gang charges in this same case after finding prosecutors’ gang filing practices were racist, and another judge threw out murder convictions against two people in a separate case after finding the prosecutor used "racially coded language" during the trial.