Rodeo man convicted of killing one half-brother, then scaring another into jumping from a second-story window

MARTINEZ A Rodeo man was acquitted of murder but convicted of voluntary manslaughter for killing his half-brother in an act he testified at trial was done in self-defense Joseph Gladney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter with an enhancement for personal use of a firearm in the shooting death of -year-old Vinson Bragg as well as a charge of threatening to kill another half-brother who lived in the family home The surviving half-brother was so scared of Gladney s threat that he jumped from a second-story window latest both his legs then crawled on his stomach to safety prosecutors commented Gladney remains jailed in Contra Costa and is set to be sentenced in November court records show At the end of trial last Thursday Gladney s lawyer argued that Bragg shot at Gladney who went to the Rodeo home in a folly attempt to reconcile after their relationship had totally disintegrated The defense attorney Michael Caesar communicated jurors that Bragg became enraged after Gladney outed him as a gay man and sought revenge The prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Kate Jewett argued that Gladney was the one who was enraged and that the homicide was committed with an unregistered AR- likely manufactured by Gladney himself She mentioned Gladney went to Rodeo on June seeking revenge after he d been kicked out of the family home located on the block of Mariposa Street and brought the gun with him to settle a total The two half-brothers had argued frequently taunted one another online and called each other derogatory names both sides agreed But Jewett denied there was any evidence Gladney had outed Bragg calling that a concoction used to bolster the self-defense theory She argued that Bragg who was set to go to Alaska for a job opportunity the day after he was killed wouldn t have risked that by attacking his brother with a gun Gladney by contrast had reported neighbors Vinson s not going to Alaska she commented They didn t know how serious he was at the time but now they do Jewett announced She disclosed after killing Bragg he located his second brother and explained him you re next Caesar argued that Gladney narrated jurors the truth when he testified for two days and recounted that he invited Bragg to share an alcoholic beverage and that things fleetly devolved He testified Bragg shot at him first but that he couldn t remember crucial parts of what happened next There can be no doubt that this is a man with deep regrets telling the truth about these events on the worst day of his life Caesar announced