Storey County appeals dismissal of wild horse charges

Storey County officials have filed notice they will appeal Carson District Judge Mike Griffin's decision tossing out all but one count in the wild horse shooting case.

Three men, Scott William Brendle, Anthony John Merlino and Darien Thomas Brock, originally faced two-dozen charges for shooting 28 wild horses with high-powered rifles in December 1998.

Griffin ruled March 23 there wasn't enough evidence to tie them to the crimes, except in the case of one horse. He threw out the rest of the charges, leaving the three men to face a single gross misdemeanor carrying a potential year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The county filed notice it intended to appeal the dismissal on April 21 - just two days before the deadline. Now that the notice has been filed, both sides will be given time to brief their arguments and a hearing before the Nevada Supreme Court set to decide whether the added charges should be reinstated.

Deputy District Attorney Sharon Claassen was unavailable Tuesday for comment on the appeal.

In the interim, Griffin also ruled the case must be moved out of Virginia City because it would be practically impossible to seat an impartial jury from the Comstock capital's tiny pool of potential jurors. Griffin transferred the case to his home seat in Carson City but has not yet set a new trial date.

Griffin said last week that the mass killing had become the "talk of the town" and that far too many potential jury members were not only familiar with the case but had formed some opinion.

Lawyers on both sides agreed with the decision to move the trial.

The shooting drew national attention and led to the discharge of Brock and Brendle from the Marine Corps. They had graduated four years earlier from Wooster High along with the third defendant, Merlino.

The three were arrested after a relative of a sheriff's deputy overheard one of them talking about the shootings at a party.