MARTINEZ — When he was gunned down in February 2012, Bay Area rapper Rene Garcia was targeted because of an “ongoing feud” with rappers affiliated with a West Contra Costa street gang, according to county prosecutors.

Garcia, who rapped under the moniker “Lil’ G the Great,” had reportedly angered members of a Richmond gang affiliated with the Sureños when he declared himself the “Prince of Richmond.” Three Bay Area residents have been charged with the killing, including a man who authorities say killed two people before his 18th birthday. A fourth, deceased suspect has also been identified.

According to prosecutors, a gang leader who considered himself one of Richmond’s best rappers “took offense to (Garcia) claiming the same status,” according to a prosecution’s statement of the case. Garcia responded with “offensive” lyrics directed at the man, and further angered the gang by associating with rival members.

“Association with outside gang members by Garcia would create a greater potential motivation for a Sureño not to be pleased with the raps Garcia was putting out,” Deputy district attorney Chad Mahalich wrote in a prosecution memo.

Two alleged gang members — Jonathan Barrera, 30, and Gabriel Schroeder, 22, have been charged with murdering Garcia, along with Marcos Figueroa, 30, a friend of Garcia’s who allegedly set him up the day of the killing. They are inching towards a trial date — where inner workings of the gang are expected to be revealed — and a pretrial hearing has been scheduled for July 14.

Barrera and Schroeder were implicated in the killing by a former gang member who was one of 12 gang members indicted in 2008 in connection with a murder spree in San Pablo. In 2013, after he was charged with assaulting a man who’d testified against him in the murder case, one of the defendants agreed to become a government informant.

On the night Garcia was killed, he and his girlfriend drove to North Richmond to meet with Figueroa, who was seen on surveillance tape entering Garcia’s car along with Barrera, police said. When he entered the car, Barrera allegedly pulled out a gun and demanded Garcia’s money.

Barrera then dragged Garcia out of the car, and two other alleged gang members approached: Schroeder, and a man identified as Jose Rodriguez, who was killed at age 19 in a 2013 Vallejo drive-by shooting. They robbed Garcia and his girlfriend, according to authorities.

Then Garcia took off running through Shields-Reid Park, yelling at his girlfriend to do the same. Schroeder, Barrera, and Rodriguez allegedly chased him down and fired at least 20 shots in his direction. He was hit multiple times and then “executed,” according to prosecutors.

Barrera’s attorney, though, has argued that there are other more logical suspects, including a man who was ID’d by an eyewitness. He argued the main prosecution witness wasn’t trustworthy because he said numerous times that Barrera wasn’t involved, before later changing his story.

“Were every person named by an informant as having been involved in Garcia’s murder present at the preliminary hearing, the judge may have needed to procure a larger courtroom,” defense lawyer David Cohen, representing Barrera, wrote, later adding, “Mr. Barrera should not be required to stand trial on the basis of such meager evidence as one unreliable man’s word.”