WOODLAND — A Woodland man has been ordered to stand trial on murder and kidnapping charges related to the 2016 disappearances of Yolo County teens Enrique Rios and Elijah Moore, both of whom are presumed to have been killed over a $300 marijuana robbery.
Jesus Campos, 20, underwent a preliminary hearing Friday in Yolo Superior Court, where Judge David Rosenberg found there was sufficient evidence for the charges to stand. A minor at the time of the charged crimes, Campos had his case elevated from juvenile to adult court back in June.
Campos has pleaded not guilty to the allegations that he was involved in both teens’ killings, which prosecutors say occurred after Moore reportedly robbed Campos and his friends David Froste and Chandale Shannon of a jar of marijuana on Oct. 17, 2016.
Unable to find Moore after the robbery, the trio allegedly took his friend Rios, 16, to a secluded location where Froste fatally shot him when Rios refused to lure Moore to them. Prosecutors say the defendants, along with Froste’s younger brother Jonathan “Jay” Froste, abducted and bludgeoned the 17-year-old Moore to death several weeks later to fulfill their revenge.
The teens’ bodies, said to be buried in a rural area east of Knights Landing, have never been found.
David Froste, 28, has since been convicted of both murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jay Froste, 22, made a plea deal in which he admitted to second-degree murder and a lesser sentence in exchange for his testimony against the others.
Shannon, 22, who last month was found mentally competent to stand trial after a year of suspended proceedings, also appeared in court Friday for a trial-setting conference, but that matter was postponed until Sept. 19.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene