By Mary Manning

Published Monday, April 28, 2008 | 2:35 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | 2:14 p.m.

Two teenagers will face trial as gang members in the murder of a Las Vegas high school freshman, a judge decided today.

Closing arguments were completed this afternoon in the preliminary hearing of 16-year-old Gerald Q. Davison and 18-year-old Ezekiel Williams. Both are being tried as adults.

Court testimony focused on gang ties in the Feb. 15 shooting death of 15-year-old Christopher Privett near Palo Verde High School. Sentences for the two teen suspects could be doubled if it is concluded that they are gang members.

Metro Police said the two teens were not in the local gang member database, but officers said they did have links to a gang called Squad Up.

Witnesses told the court last week that gang signs were flashed toward the car Williams and Davison were in before shots rang out, hitting Privett. Police statements say Davison told them he was upset because the group of students made nasty comments to two girls inside the car.

The defense is fighting the gang charges.