One Menifee man convicted, another on trial for murder

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A Menifee resident charged in the 2023 murder of a Winchester man is on trial in a Riverside court room this week and another Menifee man has already been convicted for the same crime.

The murder trial of Matthew Patrick Fromer, 52, began on Tuesday at the Murrieta Southwest Detention Center. He has been charged with first-degree murder with special circumstance allegations of murder during a burglary and murder during a robbery. According to John Hall of the District Attorney’s Office, each of the special circumstance allegations makes him eligible for the death penalty. The jury is currently deliberating in that case.

Kevin Richard Hirsch, 47 and also of Menifee, faced the same charges, as did three other men who were allegedly involved in the robbery and murder of 78-year-old Robert Bettencourt in the 28100 block of Whitaker Street in Winchester on March 3, 2023. He reached a plea deal with the court on Feb. 24, pleading guilty to all counts and admitting all allegations. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23.

According to Hall, District Attorney Mike Hestrin is not seeking the death penalty for any of the defendants, but those convicted face a potential sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Defendant Clifford John Franken, 54, of Hemet was convicted by a jury of all counts on Tuesday and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30. Like Fromer, the trial of Damian Ray Johnson is taking place this week.

Michael Salvati, 34, of Hemet has a trial readiness conference scheduled for Friday. He is representing himself.

According to a trial brief filed by the prosecution, Fromer (left)  and Hirsch first discussed Fromer’s plan to burglarize Bettencourt’s property in a conversation on Feb. 19, 2023, based on prior knowledge they had of valuables stored on the property. The conversation was recorded on Fromer’s cell phone and later shared with Salvati and Franken.

The two men discussed the possibility of using smoke grenades to trap Bettencourt in his trailer. Fromer tells Hirsch he bought a lock bar to use on the door, and Hirsh tells Fromer that instead of using smoke grenades, he would “take care of the old man.”

“I’ll pop the old man,” Hirsch is heard saying on the cell phone audio file obtained by prosecutors. “Not a problem, bro; I’ll smoke him.”

According to a timeline established for the trial brief, the five suspects arrived in different vehicles at Bettencourt’s home in the early morning hours of March 3, 2023. At 4:19 a.m., four shots were fired – by Hirsch, according to prosecutors -- while Franken revved the engine of a dune buggy to cover the noise. At 9:08 a.m., Fromer and Hirsh drove away with property from Bettencourt in the vehicle.

Three days later, a friend of Bettencourt who hadn’t heard from him in days visited the home and observed signs of a struggle. He called police, and responding officers discovered Bettencourt’s body. The same day, the trial brief alleges, Hirsch Googled “found man dead Winchester” before law enforcement arrived at the home.

After collecting surveillance videos, police tracked down Hirsch (right) at a hotel in Hemet and made the arrest. Subsequent search warrants at other locations resulted in the arrest of the others. Investigators recovered a weapon used in the murder, plus multiple cell phones, rare coins and tools stolen from Bettencourt’s residence.

Police interviewed Franken’s wife, who recalled the suspects discussing the planned event a month before it occurred. She said one of the suspects knew someone who had worked at the residence and knew what valuables could be taken.

The trial brief goes on to state that while Hirsch was in custody, an undercover operation was conducted in which Hirsch admitted his involvement to agents posing as fellow cellmates. He described the crime as a “huge payday” and was the equivalent of a “retirement” bust. Hirsch described the payout as being “guns, coins and money.”