(CNN) -- Two Mexican nationals were charged Monday in the death of a U.S. Coast Guardsman, whose succumbed to a traumatic head injury after his boat was rammed off the Southern California coast. The suspects -- Jose Meija-Leyva and Manuel Beltran-Higuera -- are charged with killing a U.S. government officer while that officer was on duty in the death of Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, the U.S. attorney's office for the central district of California said in a news release. Neither man was asked to enter a plea when they appeared Monday afternoon in federal court, where Magistrate Judge Victor Kenton ordered them held without bond, U.S. attorney's office spokesman Thom Mrozek said. A preliminary hearing is set for December 17, and their arraignment is set for December 21.
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A Coast Guardsman dies after a panga boat rams his boat, authorities say
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The panga flees, but it is eventually intercepted and its 2 occupants detained
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The 2 Mexicans are charged with killing a U.S. officer and held without bond
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They told investigators they were transporting gas to another panga boat
Coast Guardsman
Coast Guardsman
The same day the two suspects were in court, colleagues of Horne remembered him as a devoted @placeholder and beloved friend.