Hoopa shooting hearing delayed as defense cites massive evidence pile

A Hoopa murder case tied to the death of 17-year-old Dylan Moon was delayed again after defense lawyers said the file had grown too large to handle on the original schedule. The new setback pushes a hearing in a case marked by gang allegations, multiple defendants and a teenager’s death.

At the Humboldt County Superior Court, attorney Rebecca Linkous asked to continue the preliminary hearing for her client, William Warren, 18, saying the defense was not ready for the volume of discovery. The hearing had been set for the following week, but after the parties discussed timing in court, the judge accepted a new schedule. A June 3 hearing was set to choose a new preliminary-hearing date, and the lawyers estimated the eventual evidentiary hearing could take two to four days.

The delay matters because a preliminary hearing is where a judge decides whether prosecutors have enough evidence to hold defendants for trial. In this case, prosecutors are alleging five additional felony counts beyond murder, including four assault-with-a-firearm counts involving five named victims, along with gang-related violence enhancements. Three other suspects under 18 have also been arrested in connection with the same shooting, adding another layer to a case already difficult for families and the public to follow.

Moon was shot just after 5 p.m. on March 10 near Highway 96 and Moon Lane in Hoopa. Humboldt County authorities said he was taken first by ground ambulance and then airlifted out of the area because of the severity of his injuries. He died three days later, on March 13. The Sheriff’s Office said its Major Crimes Division has been investigating with Hoopa Tribal partners and that the case remains active.

On March 11, the Sheriff’s Office said 15-year-old Preston Lee Ruiz II had been arrested on a no-bail warrant in connection with the shooting. The defendants now before the court, Tse-Lin Lincoln, 19, and William Randolph Billy Warren, 18, both pleaded not guilty to amended murder charges on March 20. Prosecutors later said on March 25 that they would not seek the death penalty.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe has tried to fill the gap left by the legal process with immediate support. It offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions and said more than 20 to 30 wellness specialists, counselors, parents and community members had been on campus over recent weeks to help students cope with the trauma. Moon’s mother, Shawnday Lonewolf, has said her son was not involved in what led to the shooting and described his killing as “wrong place, wrong time.”