Three Men in Court for January Gang Killing

A preliminary hearing is scheduled today for three 20-year- old men accused of killing a rival gang member in retaliation for the murders of two teenagers in Libby Lake Park in Oceanside last May.

Eulise Valverde Solano, Robert Cano Montelongo and Benjamin Soria are each charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 2 shooting death of 20-year- old Stephen Board of Oceanside.

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A judge will decide at the end of the preliminary hearing whether there's enough evidence to order the defendants to stand trial.

Oceanside police said that shortly before 4 p.m. Jan. 2, Board was found mortally wounded in the yard of a home in the 500 block of North Redondo Drive. Witnesses reported seeing three men in dark clothing running out of the area following the sound of gunfire.

The defendants were arrested Jan. 19.

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Board was allegedly killed in retaliation for the shooting deaths of Sandra Salgado, 14, and Fernando Solano, 16, in Libby Lake Park on Calle Montecito Street the night of May 3. Police said the two were boyfriend and girlfriend.

An Aug. 6 trial date is set for four gang members charged in the park shooting, the motive for which remains unclear. Board was not among the men charged in the park shooting.

— City News Service

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