Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Death

One of three alleged gang members accused of killing a 16-year-old Sylmar youth they purportedly mistook for a rival gang member has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Robert Flores, 24, of Pacoima is expected to receive a 12-year prison term, the maximum for voluntary manslaughter, when he is sentenced in San Fernando Superior Court on June 29, Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison said.

Prosecutors allowed Flores to plead guilty to the charge because they did not have enough evidence to prove him guilty of the original charge of murder, Nison said. Flores entered his plea Tuesday, the first day of jury selection in the trial of the three men.

Still facing trial on murder charges are Albert Martinez, 21, of Lake View Terrace, and Manuel Madrigal, 23, of Pacoima. The men allegedly beat and shot Jimmie Torrez III on Aug. 28 after he fell off a motorcycle they were chasing on a San Fernando street, police said. They mistakenly thought that Torrez had killed a member of a gang they associated with in Pacoima earlier, police said.