a 2003 murder case

Preliminary hearing in murder/attempted murder case continued
...defense attorney (Neal Sanders) declared a conflict of interest Monday morning with regard to defending his client — a man charged in a 2003 murder/attempted murder case... David Gabriel Barger was to have his preliminary hearing — after which a judge would have determined whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial — he was assigned a new Eureka-based attorney, Marion Miller.

According to past reports, Barger pleaded not guilty in late March to the July 19, 2003, murder of Rex Shinn; the Aug. 13, 2004, attempted murder of Brandon Fee; the Aug. 13, 2004, assault with a deadly weapon, being a firearm, of Brandon Fee; and the Aug. 13, 2004, assault with a deadly weapon, being a firearm, of Alvin Pires.

Barger, 22, a resident of Southern Humboldt — who has gone by the last name of Sequoia — also issued denials to the various firearms-related special allegations listed on the complaint filed by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

...The police report alone, Sanders said in a previous interview, is more than 1,400 pages long.

Humboldt County DDA Max Cardoza is prosecuting the case.

Related:
Date Released: Sheriff's Press Release 8/28/2003
Subject: Missing Person
Contact: Det. Rich Schlesiger (707)268-3642
Case No#: 200305296
Released By: Brenda Gainey, PIO
Location: Loleta

Investigators from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office are still searching for a missing Loleta man. Rex Donald Shinn, 32, was reported missing on August 11, 2003. Since then investigators have been conducting an intensive search for Shinn.

Shinn is a white male adult, 5’8” tall and 160 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.

Shinn drives a silver-blue 1995 Chevrolet ½ ton extended cab 4X4 truck; California license number 5B49549. The truck has the phrase “Shinn Dig Excavation” in blue letters on the doors and a graphic of an excavator on the side.

Anyone with information should call Detective Rich Schlesiger at (707) 268-3642.

MISSING MAN'S BODY FOUND: A body believed to be that of a murdered Loleta man was found Jan. 20 on private land five miles east of Honeydew, the Sheriff's Office reported. An autopsy will be performed this week to identify the remains, but sheriff's officials believe the dead man is Rex Donald Shinn, 32, who was reported missing in July 2003. A homicide investigation began soon after Shinn's truck was found abandoned in Petrolia on Aug. 30, 2003. Detectives believe they know who killed Shinn and will forward the case to the District Attorney's office. Anyone with information can contact Humboldt County Sheriff's Detective Rich Schlesiger at 445-7251.

MURDERED MEN IDENTIFIED: The remains of two slain men whose bodies were left in Southern Humboldt have been positively identified. A body discovered last month in Honeydew was identified through dental records as Rex Donald Shinn, of Loleta, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. Autopsy results confirm that Shinn, 32, died of a gunshot wound. The Sheriff's Office says that they know who killed the man, who was reported missing in July 2003. Sheriff's detectives are continuing an investigation into Shinn's murder. Anyone with information should contact Detective Rich Schlesiger at 445-7251. In another unsolved homicide, a recent DNA comparison has identified Robert John Tobaka, 53, of Eureka almost one year after his body was discovered in the woods near Pepperwood. The cause of the man's death was not released by the Sheriff's Office; an investigation continues.