6 ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL IN RAPE, KIDNAPPING CASE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Five men and a woman have been ordered to stand trial on charges that they were involved in the kidnapping and rape of a woman who came forward as a witness in a murder case.

The case had been previously dismissed by Judge Steve Ogden, who expressed doubts about the victim's credibility, but prosecutors refiled the charges for a hearing before Judge Carol Koppel, who ruled that there was enough evidence to order a trial.

``It's a big surprise to me,'' said James Bates, the attorney for defendant Thomas Sylvester Murray Jr. ``The judge said although the witness has some credibility problems, she thought it was something the jury should determine, not her.''

The preliminary hearing spanned three days, going past 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, on two of the days, ending Tuesday. One defendant had to be flown to court by helicopter one day because sheriff's deputies failed to put him on the jail bus to the Lancaster courthouse, Bates said.

The female defendant, Wendy Martin, showed up for the start of the preliminary hearing last Friday but left the courthouse before the hearing began. A no-bail warrant was issued for her arrest.

While at the first preliminary hearing sheriff's deputies recounted what the victim told them, the victim testified at the second preliminary hearing.

``I felt they should have been held to answer (at a trial) the first time,'' Deputy District Attorney Lisa Chung said. ``I felt we put on more than sufficient evidence both times.''

The six defendants are Murray, Martin, Samuel Nunez, James Shannon, Miguel Gonzalez and Gabriel Ramirez.

The kidnap and rape victim came forward with information about the Jan. 6 slaying of 28-year-old Crystal Angelica Stahl, a cab driver who was burned to death in her taxi. Stahl's 18-year-old ex-boyfriend, Ryan Willis, was arrested in March and has pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and robbery.

Murray also is charged in Stahl's murder.

In the kidnap and rape case, prosecutors said the victim was kidnapped twice over the Memorial Day weekend and raped once. She was kidnapped a third time on June 5 and raped again, they said.

After the first preliminary hearing, defense attorneys said the victim told five different versions of the events she claimed occurred to five different deputies within a two-day period.

Martin's attorney, Todd Marsh, previously said statements from other witnesses were inconsistent with what the victim was alleging. Some witnesses indicated that the victim may have left with the defendants voluntarily instead of being taken by force, Marsh had said.

Another defense attorney said the victim was staying at a local hotel as part of a witness relocation program because of the murder case, and that the victim invited people to the hotel before the alleged offenses occurred.