LONG BEACH -- Jury selection dates were set Monday in the case of two teens charged in the revenge killing of another Long Beach youth.
Two juries will be chosen for the trials of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, one for each defendant.
Though the defendant's will have separate trials with separate juries the matters will be heard at the same time in the same courtroom.
Jury selection in Benites' case will begin June 23 and jury selection is expected to begin in Trejo's case on June 24, according to court staff.
The pair stand accused in the murder of 16-year-old Cabrillo High student Florentino Rivera, who was gunned down near 15th Street and Cedar Avenue on Jan. 6, 2008.
Benites and Trejo were 15 and 14 years old, respectively, at the time of the shooting, but are being tried as adults.
Police and prosecutors allege the pair opened fire on a group of people, killing Rivera and nearly killing five others.
Sources close to the defendants and the victims said the shooting stemmed from Benites' desire for revenge in the killing of his 13-year-old brother, Jose Cano, who was stabbed to death in June 2007 by gang rivals at 14th Street Park.
Cano was killed after he allegedly attacked his 14-year-old gang rival's home and the 14-year-old's mother, Eva Daley, on June 25, 2007.
Cano also stabbed the 14-year-old in a fight about six months prior to Cano's murder.
A total of six minors were tried in that case along with Daley, who helped plan the attack and drove the boys to the park to kill Cano.
The stabber - Heriberto Garcia, who was 15 at the time of the killing - was tried as an adult along with Daley and both were convicted of second degree murder in October of 2008.
Friends of suspects in both slayings said Benites was so incensed by the lack of action taken by his brother's gang and so distraught over his brother's death that he turned on his brother's gang, which led to Rivera's slaying.
Rivera's family denied he was in a gang, but friends of the victim and suspects said Rivera hung out with gang members and may have been shot accidentally or lumped into the group by association.
Both Benites and Trejo have remained in custody as they have awaited their trials. Each faces the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted on all counts.
Two juries will be chosen for the trials of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, one for each defendant.
Though the defendant's will have separate trials with separate juries the matters will be heard at the same time in the same courtroom.
Jury selection in Benites' case will begin June 23 and jury selection is expected to begin in Trejo's case on June 24, according to court staff.
The pair stand accused in the murder of 16-year-old Cabrillo High student Florentino Rivera, who was gunned down near 15th Street and Cedar Avenue on Jan. 6, 2008.
Benites and Trejo were 15 and 14 years old, respectively, at the time of the shooting, but are being tried as adults.
Police and prosecutors allege the pair opened fire on a group of people, killing Rivera and nearly killing five others.
Sources close to the defendants and the victims said the shooting stemmed from Benites' desire for revenge in the killing of his 13-year-old brother, Jose Cano, who was stabbed to death in June 2007 by gang rivals at 14th Street Park.
Cano was killed after he allegedly attacked his 14-year-old gang rival's home and the 14-year-old's mother, Eva Daley, on June 25, 2007.
Cano also stabbed the 14-year-old in a fight about six months prior to Cano's murder.
A total of six minors were tried in that case along with Daley, who helped plan the attack and drove the boys to the park to kill Cano.
The stabber - Heriberto Garcia, who was 15 at the time of the killing - was tried as an adult along with Daley and both were convicted of second degree murder in October of 2008.
Friends of suspects in both slayings said Benites was so incensed by the lack of action taken by his brother's gang and so distraught over his brother's death that he turned on his brother's gang, which led to Rivera's slaying.
Rivera's family denied he was in a gang, but friends of the victim and suspects said Rivera hung out with gang members and may have been shot accidentally or lumped into the group by association.
Both Benites and Trejo have remained in custody as they have awaited their trials. Each faces the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted on all counts.
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