Bonifay man sentenced to 30 years for murder of Tyler Pate - Larry Basford

Defendant Matthew Peoples, center, is returned to the defense table after being fingerprinted to hear his final sentence. On the left is Prosecutor Peter Overstreet, on the right is Prosecutor Jacob Cook

BONIFAY – A man who pulled a gun and shot an unarmed man rather than “lose a fight” was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Matthew Ryan Peoples, 35, was found guilty as charged of Second-Degree Murder last month by a jury that also found he was armed with and used a firearm. Circuit Court Judge Russell Roberts explained during sentencing that under Florida’s 10-20-Life law, the sentence could range from a minimum-mandatory 25 years up to Life.

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet asked for a Life sentence.

“I don’t make any secret that I’m kind of an eye-for-eye kind of person, and I think the appropriate sentence is Life,” he said. “I think if you take a life, you better be willing to give up your own.”

The victim’s mother wrote a victim impact statement that Overstreet read to the court.

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet speaks to the mother of the victim, who is wearing a shirt with his picture on it.

“The day you killed my son, you killed a piece of me as well,” she wrote. “I’ll never be the same. I cry every day because I miss him so much.”

After the sentencing, she thanked Overstreet for advocating for her son and the family.

“Mr. Overstreet did a wonderful job for us, he was there for us and we’re grateful that he worked so hard on this,” she said. “We knew someone cared.”

The defense asked for the minimum 25-year sentence. Judge Roberts handed down a 30-year sentence and added probation for life along with restitution.

At the July trial, Overstreet and Prosecutor Jacob Cook called 10 witnesses and presented evidence proving that the defendant shot Pate, who was unarmed, after an evening of verbal disturbances between the victim and the defendant’s sister.

The defendant, 35, claimed the victim, 30, had threatened to beat him up and was walking toward him, aggressively on Sept. 4, 2023, when the shot was fired.

“This was an avoidable tragedy, 100 percent avoidable,” Overstreet said. “But the defendant chose to involve a gun from the outset … he was like a cowboy. He’s calling out to the victim, basically whacking the hornet’s nest, and then is surprised when Mr. Pate reacts so he shoots him.”

Basford thanked the Bonifay Police Department for its response and initial investigation, along with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.