3 to Stand Trial in Gang Slaying

Three suspected gang members were ordered Tuesday to stand trial on murder charges in the slaying of a 16-year-old Granada Hills High School student who joked that he had ordered a member of their gang killed.

Robert Flores, 23, of Pacoima, Manuel Madrigal, 22, and Albert Martinez, 20, both of Lake View Terrace were charged with the Aug. 27 killing of Jimmie Thomas Torrez. The suspects allegedly are members of a gang known as the Project Boys. They are being held in Los Angeles County Jail.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison said Torrez belonged to no gang but had been jumped by several Project Boys earlier in the year. On the night of his death, Torrez told his cousin, Teresa Estrada, that he was responsible for the death of Conrad Treviso, one of the Project Boys who jumped him, Nison said.

Treviso was actually killed during an attempted auto burglary earlier in the year, Nison said.

He said Torrez was joking, but Estrada believed him and told Flores, Madrigal and Martinez. Later that night, the three chased Torrez in a car until he fell off the back of a motorcycle, beat him and shot him five times in the back with a rifle, Nison said.

The three are scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 24 in San Fernando Superior Court.