Judge orders murder trial for seven in teen's slaying in Pomona

LOS ANGELES - A judge ruled this afternoon that seven young Pomona men must stand trial on murder charges for their alleged roles in the killing of a Diamond Bar teen last year at a party in Pomona.

The ruling by Judge William R. Pounders came after four days of testimony at a preliminary hearing for the accused killers of Marquis LeBlanc, 18, who was beaten, stabbed and shot to death on April 17, 2009 in the 2100 block of Virginia Avenue.

Witnesses testified that LeBlanc, one of the only black people at a predominantly Hispanic party, pulled out a handgun during a confrontation and waved it from side to side before attempting to leave the party.

A group of as many as 20 young men caught up to LeBlanc and beat him at the party, according to witnesses. LeBlanc escaped the beating and ran into the street, where the group caught up to him and continued beating him.

It ended with one man shooting LeBlanc in the head as he lay unconscious in the street, witnesses said.

"I am super excited," LeBlanc's mother, Jessica Corde, said after the hearing. "I know that God is in the middle of it and evil will not prevail at this point. I hate them all at this point but I hope God can give me forgiveness."

The seven people held to answer on murder charges were Ralph Richard Alfaro, 18; Adam Delgado, 21; Victor Guillen, 18; Martin Haro, 16; Luis Martinez, 19; Efrain Prado, 21; and Adrian Zuniga, 16. All seven remained jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.

The judge rejected arguments by defense attorneys that the men acted only to disarm LeBlanc.

Pounders said he agreed with Deputy District Attorney John McKinney's assertion that LeBlanc used the weapon as an aid to escape. A group of men formed around him after a confrontation on the party's dance floor, witnesses said.

"It appears that he was pulling that gun and clearing a path for his own exit," McKinney said.

Pounders also ruled that prosecutors' allegations that the men committed the killing to benefit a gang can be presented at trial. The allegations, if found true by a jury, will lengthen the defendants' prison sentences.

"I think there's abundant evidence that this benefitted a street gang," Pounders said.

Three others are charged in the case and are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Nov. 2.

Edgar Cisneros, 20, and Richard Vasquez, 18, are charged with murder. Arturo Casas, 21, faces robbery charges for allegedly stealing LeBlanc's Nike shoes from his dead body, a prosecutor said.

Seven of the 10 defendants were initially charged with murder, but that number rose to nine by the end of the preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors believe Delgado stabbed LeBlanc. The other six defendants who faced a preliminary hearing this week are accused of participating in LeBlanc's beating.

The seven young men are next due in court Sept. 20.