Hearing set in double murder case

A judge Thursday scheduled a preliminary hearing Sept. 13 for two men accused of murder in the shooting deaths of two teenagers six months ago in a north Modesto neighborhood.

Nicholas Spangler, 27, of Ceres and Robbie Blackwell, 20, of Modesto have been charged with two counts of murder each in the deaths of Rolando Luna, 15, and Andrew Ensey, 19.

Spangler and Blackwell appeared briefly Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing in Stanislaus County Superior Court. The attorneys told Judge Ricardo Córdova that the preliminary hearing should last about two days.

The defendants remain in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.

Luna and Ensey, both of Modesto, were hit by gunfire about 9:15 p.m. Feb. 10 in the 2400 block of Vera Cruz Drive, near Floyd Avenue and about a block east of the Coffee Plaza shopping center