A spat between neighbors that escalated into a baseball-bat melee has left a former Mililani bodybuilder dead in California.

Two men are in custody for the fatal beating of Patrick Shige Matsuda, 40.

Matsuda confronted two neighbors in Bakersfield, Calif., about loud party noise in the early morning hours of Sunday, according to the Bakersfield Californian.

An argument ensued and Matsuda hit a male neighbor in the face and also a woman when she intervened, according to a police news release.

Several people from the party then came out of the house to confront Matsuda.

Police said Matsuda grabbed a baseball bat from his garage and chased the partygoers across the street, striking the same woman on the arm.

Neighbor Blayne Allen Clifford, 18, ran back to his house and grabbed two baseball bats and handed one to another man, who hit Matsuda in the head, knocking him to the ground, police said.

Police said Clifford struck Matsuda several times while he was on the ground. More people joined in, kicking and hitting Matsuda.

Matsuda's wife, Annette, called police to report her husband was being assaulted.

The group fled after Matsuda stopped moving. He was transported to Kern Medical Center, where he died.

Autopsy results indicated that Matsuda died from blunt force injuries and was also stabbed. The manner of his death was classified as a homicide, according to the coroner's office in Kern County.

Police charged Clifford with first-degree murder in connection with Matsuda's death. Clifford is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Michael Lee Taylor, 22, turned himself in to police yesterday in connection with the case.

Matsuda's wife could not be reached for comment. She told the Bakersfield Californian that loud parties at their neighbor's home have been a frequent problem.

Matsuda became involved in bodybuilding in his 20s and won a national competition in 2001.

He moved to Bakersfield from Mililani to attend Cal State University Bakersfield, where he obtained a degree in physical education in 1993.

Matsuda's criminal history includes a two-year sentence for conspiracy to distribute MDMA or Ecstasy, an amphetamine-based drug. He served 13 months in prison for the offense, according to his lawyer, Nicholas Reyes.

Clifford pleaded not guilty to a disorderly conduct charge last year.

According to the Web site of Bakersfield TV stations KBAK and KBFX, Taylor had three misdemeanor convictions from 2005 to 2006 that include “;cruelty to animals and possession or manufacturing of a dangerous weapon.”;