ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Three teenagers were indicted Tuesday for the brutal slayings of two homeless men in Albuquerque. A Bernalillo County grand jury returned indictments against all three suspects that included first-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and battery and numerous other counts. Arraignments for the three teens have yet to be scheduled. District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said the 15- and 16-year-old suspects will be tried alongside 18-year-old Alex Rios in adult court because they were charged as serious youthful offenders and indicted on the first-degree murder charges. The Associated Press is not identifying the minors because of their age.
Rios and the two younger suspects are charged with attacking three homeless men as they slept July 19 in a vacant lot that was a regular camping ground for transients in southwest Albuquerque. Cinderblocks were among the things the 15-year-old said the trio used to beat the men for over an hour, police said. According to a criminal complaint, he told police they lifted them over their heads and took turns dropping them on the men's faces. Sticks, a metal pole and other objects were also used to beat the men, police said. Allison Gorman and Kee Thompson were killed. The third man, Jerome Eskeets, was able to get away and was later hospitalized for his injuries.
IN-DEPTH
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