Testimony has been completed in the trial of three men accused of slaying a Wildomar pastor's son and the case will go to the jury soon.
Marvin Justin Black, 29, James Wing Fung, 33, and Matthew Basler, 34, are on trial for murder in Ryan Armstrong’s death and attempted murder in the stabbing of Joel Ross.
They also face assault charges and all face sentence-enhancing prison prior and strike allegations.
The men -- they are from San Diego -- all face 60 years in prison if convicted on the charges.
Fung is additionally charged with trying to intimidate a witness.
The defense put Fung on the stand on Monday and Tuesday, which was the last day of testimony; closing arguments should begin Thursday.
The prosecutor is the only one allowed both a closing and a rebuttal argument after the defense has argued its case. Trial started last month.
The stabbings occurred outside ET Sports Lounge in Temecula about 10:45 p.m. Dec. 26, 2008. Armstrong died at a hospital; Ross recovered from his wounds.
According to prosecution testimony, Armstrong was the peacemaker when an argument broke out earlier in the evening.
Witness testimony indicated that after things had seemingly settled down following an argument over a beer cup placed on a pool table, Armstrong was dragged to the back door by one or more of the defendants.
The defendants were thrown out but later drove around to the alley
The prosecution contends that the defendants jumped out of a truck and viciously attacked Armstrong and his friend.
The defense maintains that the defendants were swarmed by a large group and merely fought to free themselves of the melee.
To read more about the case, please click here.
