SAN FERNANDO — Prosecutors began their preliminary hearing Tuesday against three young men charged with murder in the death of a Canyon Country man on Halloween.

Diamonte Jerome McGhee, Branden Trevaughn Higgs and Eric Michael Edwards appeared in San Fernando Superior Court on charges of having killed Alejandro Sanchez Torrez on Halloween last year.

In January, all three entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against them.

Besides murder, each of the three is also charged with conspiracy, robbery and two counts of attempted murder.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Lieberman has identified McGhee as the triggerman.

On the afternoon of Oct. 31, Alejandro Sanchez Torrez, who was accompanied by his 7-year-old son, tried to come to the aid of a man who was allegedly being robbed by the suspects while arranging to sell them a Nintendo DS game system.

The alleged robbery victim, identified by prosecutors as Ricardo Sandoval of Newhall, was shot in the leg.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled to resume Wednesday.

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