Trial Ordered in Gang Slaying
A Valley Center gang member accused of killing another man affiliated with the gang was ordered Thursday to stand trial on one count of murder.
Felix Mendoza, who is known as Gato by other members of the Diablos gang, is charged with stabbing to death 18-year-old Jacob John Balderama on Aug. 31 in Escondido, authorities said.
During a short preliminary hearing in San Diego Municipal Court, a former member of the gang testified that he saw Mendoza carrying a knife and walking away from the victim.
Ruperto (Spike) Martinez said he confronted Mendoza, who waved a knife at him. After retrieving a baseball bat from a car, Martinez said he used the bat to knock the knife out of Mendoza’s hand.
Mendoza, 18, has been in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail since he was arrested on the Rincon Indian Reservation four weeks after the killing.
He will be arraigned Dec. 26 in Superior Court.
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