YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) — A man accused of kidnapping and killing a Fernley teenager in March has been found competent to stand trial and ordered to appear at a two-day preliminary hearing in February.
A Lyon County district judge in Yerington set Troy Driver's preliminary hearing for Feb. 16-17 in justice court in Fernley to determine whether there's enough evidence to bound him over for trial on charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.
He's accused of abducting 18-year-old Naomi Irion on March 12 from a Walmart parking lot in Fernley about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) east of Reno. Her body was found two weeks later in a shallow grave in neighboring Churchill County.
Driver's preliminary hearing originally was set for September. But Canal Township Justice Court Judge Lori Matheus vacated the hearing until a state judge ruled on his competency.
Driver's lawyers continue to argue that he can’t legally be tried in Lyon County for the killing, which occurred in neighboring Churchill County.
Prosecutors maintain he can be tried in Lyon County on all charges because he kidnapped Irion from a Walmart there before he shot and buried her in the desert “all as one continuous course of conduct.”
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