Trial Ordered For 3 Young Men In French Street Artist's Slaying

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A judge has ordered three young men to stand trial for murder in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old French street artist during a robbery outside an abandoned Detroit housing project.

On Tuesday, Detroit District Judge Michael Wagner ruled there's probable cause to send 20-year-old Drequone Rich to trial on a first-degree murder charge. Wagner on Friday ordered 17-year-old Dionte Travis and 18-year-old Jasin Curtis tried on the same charge.

The story made national headlines when Bilal Berreni's body was found July 29, 2013, outside the dilapidated Frederick Douglass Homes — more commonly knows at the Brewster projects.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner determined Berreni, of Paris, had died from a gunshot wound to the head.

No identification or passport was found and Berreni's body, and it took Michigan State Police seven months to identify him through fingerprints.

According to family members, the young artist — who painted large pieces in black and white on buildings — occasionally may have lived as a squatter in vacant structures.

Rich, Travis and Curtis will be tried in Wayne County Circuit court.

A 14-year-old defendant, whose name has not been made public due to his age, is awaiting a separate trial in juvenile court.

The long vacant housing project has since been demolished.

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