UKIAH – On August 3, 2022, Robert Henry Brockway III, 35, generally of the Mendocino Coast, plead guilty to the second-degree murder of Jimmie Mathis Mooneyham back in October 2020.

Brockway’s guilty plea was entered as jury selection for his trial was underway. The prosecutor and defense attorney worked out a disposition that would be acceptable to both sides instead of continuing towards a two-stage trial (guilt and then sanity) that was expected to last two-and-a-half weeks.

The defendant also admitted by guilty plea burglary in the first degree, wherein he admitted entering Mooneyham’s home to commit a felony assault on Mooneyham with a sword.

To effectuate the change of plea, defendant Brockway was required to withdraw his previously-entered dual pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

Brockway will be sentenced to 21 years to life in state prison when he returns to court on September 9, 2022. The stipulated sentence is the maximum allowed by law for this combination of guilty pleas.

The law enforcement agencies that investigated the case are the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Justice crime laboratory in Eureka, the Department of Justice DNA laboratory in Redding, and the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations.

“Thank you to the California Department of Justice criminalists who processed evidence in this case to assist with the prosecution of this admitted killer.  Law enforcement and district attorneys’ offices rely on their knowledge and expertise to bring criminal investigations and prosecutions to a conclusion,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.