MARTINEZ — Days before he was to stand trial for allegedly beating a Concord man to death inside the victim’s home, Terrance Boyd Dixon opted out.
Dixon, 56, admitted to killing 64-year-old Michael Downie and to breaking into Downie’s home. Downie was found beaten to death in what police described as a manic attack. The crime scene was so bloody it shocked homicide investigators, according to court records.
Dixon’s plea deal required him to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and burglary charges. He was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.
The motive for the July 2018 attack was somewhat unclear. Family members and friends of Downie initially told investigators Dixon was out for revenge against Downie for sending him to prison years earlier. The possibilities of a robbery motive, or a personal dispute between the two, were also investigated.
After the beating, Dixon allegedly fled north, selling Downie’s car in San Joaquin County along the way. He ended up in Bandon, Oregon, where he turned himself in to police there, explaining to the officers he wanted to tell his wife goodbye one last time before going to prison.
Dixon’s trial was supposed to start in September, but after more than a week of jury selection, a Contra Costa County presiding judge declared a mistrial. The presiding judge said that he wanted Dixon’s trial to go before a permanent judge instead of a substitute, who had originally been given the case.
So Dixon was assigned a new courtroom, and jury selection began again. Then Dixon signaled his willingness to take a plea deal. The deal and sentencing were completed last Wednesday.
Police say Dixon was convicted in 1998 of attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery in Nevada, as well as a 1987 battery conviction. In California, Dixon has several convictions, including for burglary and assault with a deadly weapon. His most recent case, in 2014, came when he was found with a loaded gun in Windsor and sentenced to two years in prison for illegal firearm possession.
