Three Del Norte County men are accused of killing 41-year-old Robert Allen Cole during an altercation that took place on Maiden Lane the evening of March 16.

Robert Christopher Hunter, 46, Andrew Salinas, 43, and 23-year-old Donovan Natt face murder charges, Del Norte County District Attorney Katherine Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

Hunter and Natt appeared before Judge Karen Olson on Wednesday. Hunter pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial. However, since Natt’s lawyer, Humboldt County attorney Russell Clanton, had just received the case, Natt’s entry-of-plea hearing has been postponed until April 9.

Salinas was unable to attend Wednesday’s hearing since he is in the hospital, according to his attorney Elly Hoopes. Hoopes told the court that she had been unable to have proper communication with her client.

Salinas is expected to appear in court on April 6.

Micks appeared in court Wednesday on behalf of the prosecution.

Deputies responded to a report of an assault that took place in the 200 block of Maiden Lane in the Crescent City area at about 11 p.m. on March 16, according to Del Norte County Sheriff’s Capt. Melanie Currie. When deputies arrived on scene, they found one person in medical distress, along with some bystanders. According to Curie, some of the bystanders had started CPR on the victim until emergency medical personnel arrived and took over.

“Then it was determined that life-saving measures were not working,” Currie told Redwood Voice. “He did not make it to the hospital.”

Currie said she knew the victim to be Robert Cole. 

“At that point we cordoned the area off as far as it being a potential crime scene and began interviewing potential witnesses and working on the investigation from that point on,” Currie said. “We were out there until we cleared at about 11 p.m. on the 17th — maybe around midnight. We were there for a full 24 hours.”

According to the DNSO captain, Salinas was arrested at the scene, while Hunter was arrested in Klamath. Natt turned himself in on March 18. 

Another individual was arrested at the scene and later released, Currie said.

According to the DNSO’s Online Information Page, Hunter faces an additional charge of violating his conditions for post-release community supervision. 

A readiness hearing for Hunter has been scheduled for April 6 with a preliminary hearing on April 9.