Trial nears for pair accused of gunning down teen brothers on Fruitridge Road

The men accused of killing teen brothers Daniel and Sergio Murti in a hail of gunfire outside a Fruitridge Road strip mall nearly two years ago will soon stand trial in the deadly shootings.

Hieu Hoang and Richard Saterfield will return Feb. 28 to a Sacramento courtroom where the case will be set for trial, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman said Friday.

Both men face two counts of murder in the daylight slayings of Daniel, 19, and Sergio, 15, blocks from the brothers’ home on Nina Way.

The tension, sizable family presence and heavy security that marked the accused duo’s earliest court appearances was largely absent Friday.

It was about noon on May 11, 2017, when Sacramento County prosecutors said the Murtis were ambushed by two men as they walked along the 5200 block of Fruitridge Road. The gunmen armed with .40-caliber handguns opened fire, killing the brothers in the parking lot of the strip mall before speeding off in what witnesses described as a light-colored sport-utility vehicle.

Hoang was arrested the following day, May 12, 2017; Saterfield, a day later on May 13, after surrendering to authorities.

Hoang and Saterfield remain held without bail in Sacramento County Main Jail.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.