Separate trials set in clerk's death in Modesto

MODESTO -- A judge on Wednesday scheduled separate trials to start in the spring for two Merced men accused of murder in the shooting of a Modesto store clerk during an attempted robbery nearly three years ago.

Mark Burgess, 25, and Ernesto Morales Jr., 23, have been charged with murder and attempted robbery in connection with the death of Harinder Sanghera, 28, of Ceres.

The shooting occurred Dec. 4, 2009, at the Gas N Shop Market in the 800 block of South Ninth Street in Modesto. The judge scheduled Morales' trial to start March 18 and Burgess' trial to start April 15. The men remain in custody as they await their trials.