Nearly 3 years since the crime was committed, a Nevada County judge has ordered a trial for three men accused in the shooting death of a marijuana garden caretaker in Penn Valley. That follows a preliminary hearing for 33-year-old Nathan Philbrook, 32-year-old Daniel Devencenzi, and 27-year-old Finley Fultz, who all have ties to the state of Nevada. District Attorney Cliff Newell says the trio are still facing the original charges….

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Newell says Fultz is the one who fired the shots at the victim, Isaac Zafft, and that the maximum penalty, if convicted, is life in prison without parole. He says Philbrook and Devencenzi also face potential life sentences. He says the trio were considered “patch pirates”, who went to various counties looking for pot farms to rob. He believes the vast majority of the recent uptick in violent crimes in Nevada County are linked to marijuana cultivation…

click to listen to Cliff Newell

Philbrook, Devencenzi, and Fultz are scheduled to be arraigned on August 7th, at which time a trial date may be set. But Newell says a trial is likely months away, while hoping it will begin before the end of the year.