Prosecutors try to reinstate charges in wild horse shootings

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, April 26, 2000 | 1:10 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Storey County prosecutors are trying to resurrect some of the charges earlier dismissed against two ex-Marines and a friend accused of killing a wild horse in December 1998.

But a lawyer for one of the defendants said there's new reason to believe the final gross misdemeanor charge might be dropped because the district attorney's office mistakenly cited a felony violation.

Storey County District Attorney Janet Hess refused comment today on whether the charge was filed accurately or whether she feared it would be dismissed.

Hess said she filed notice that she intends to appeal Judge Michael Griffin's decision to dismiss all but the one remaining charge of killing a hosre.

The three former high school buddies, set to go to trial Nov. 1, once stood accused of slaughtering as many as 33 mustangs with high-powered rifles in the hills just east of Reno, a mile south of Interstate 80.

"We're appealing some of the horses that were dismissed," Hess said today. "We are appealing the number of horses because we believe we will succeed in the merits."

Former Lance Cpls. Scott Brendle and Darien Brock, and their former Wooster High friend Anthony Merlino were arrested in January 1999 after the horse carcasses were discovered in the days after Christmas 1998.

The shootings prompted international outrage and resulted in the equivalent of dishonorable discharges for Brendle and Brock.

Griffin earlier this month ordered a rare change of venue for a criminal case in Nevada, sending the case from Virginia City to Carson City for trial.

But Scott Freeman, a Reno lawyer representing Merlino, said the defense might request another change of venue. In the meantime, defense attorneys are seeking dismissal of the final charge based on an alleged filing error by assistant district attorney Sharon Claassen.

"Because the state has decided to appeal, the defense has decided to have the Supreme Court take another look at whether or not the last charge should have been dismissed," Freeman said today.

"A mistake was made in the filing. The judge made the charge a gross misdemeanor. But Ms. Claassen charged it mistakenly as a felony," he said.

In regard to Griffin's decision to move the trial 15 miles to Carson City, Freeman said "it's still very close to Storey County.

"We're deciding whether to file a new request for a change of venue," he said.

Hess said she has 30 days from when she filed the notice of intent to appeal on April 21 to outline specifics about why some charges should be reinstated. The final gross misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to one year in the county jail and a fine of up to $2,000.