(Updated at 5:15 p.m. to include input from Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott.)
A 27-year-old man faces a similar murder charge he received 11 years ago in connection with the homicide of Klamath teenager Dante Romannose-Jones.
Nathan Feliz, who was 16 years old when Dante was shot and killed, was arrested in Ukiah on Monday, the Redheaded Blackbelt’s Lisa Music reported. According to Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks, Feliz’s current charge — murder with a special allegation of use of a firearm — originated in juvenile court.
Feliz appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon, Micks said. His next hearing is scheduled for July 30 before Del Norte County Superior Court Judge Darrin McElfresh, she said.
“At this point, the case has been initiated in juvenile court,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. “There is the potential for it to be transferred to adult court.”
Dante was 13 years old when he was shot and killed in a residential area in Klamath in May 2015. Under Micks’s predecessor Dale Trigg, Feliz was arraigned as an adult on murder charges with a firearm allegation. However, those charges were dropped.
On Tuesday, Micks said she wasn’t ready to make any statements regarding the case against Feliz. However, she said that though most hearings in juvenile court are closed to the public, certain cases such as murder are open to the public.
“The hearings are open to the public,” Micks said, referring to Feliz’s case.
Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said the Dante Romannose-Jones murder case was one he wanted to prioritize when he took office. He said has been working with Martha Romannose-Jones and local tribal representatives to focus in Missing and Murdered Indigenous People cases. But, Scott said, he had to work to rebuild his department.
“Now we have two outstanding investigators,” he said. “And the main investigators that have been working on that is Maia Mello and Sgt. LeAnn McClaflin. (They) have just been piecing more things together and talking to more people and, anyhow, they were able to come up with a few things that helped the case.”
Scott said one of his priorities is working to bring resolutions to several outstanding cases.
“I’m really proud that we were able to establish enough evidence in this case for the DA to say, ‘absolutely,’ and charge Feliz,” he said.
Following Dante’s death, his mother, Romannose-Jones has fought tirelessly to see the person responsible is brought to justice. Her family has participated in several Missing and Murdered Indigenous People vigils and a change.org petition has been circulating since 2017.
On Tuesday, following Feliz’s arrest, Romannose-Jones said her family is “beyond excited, grateful and nervous.”
“But as a mother, I’m ready and strong,” she told Redwood Voice via Facebook messenger.
