Preliminary hearing for Noriega scheduled for February

A preliminary hearing for a Mayetta resident charged with first-degree murder and drug charges in the recent stabbing death of another Mayetta resident has been slated for late February in Jackson County District Court.

Wilson R. Noriega, 49, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon on hearings for two separate criminal cases, including one related to the Nov. 21 stabbing death of 49-year-old Leann M. Sanchez at a residence on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation. A preliminary hearing on the two cases was set for 9 a.m. on Feb. 22 by District Court Judge Jeff Elder.

Noriega faces charges of murder in the first degree, possession of methamphetamines and possession of drug paraphernalia in the Nov. 21 incident. In the additional case, he faces charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia based on an incident that occurred in July.

Neither defense attorney J. Richard Lake of Holton nor Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller objected to trying the cases back to back. Miller said the preliminary hearing would require half a day of court time for calling of witnesses in the case related to the Nov. 21 incident, but “no more than 20 or 30 minutes” were required for the other case.

Noriega remains at the Jackson County Detention Center, where he was taken after the Nov. 21 incident. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said his officers and Potawatomi tribal police were called to his parents’ home early that morning to find Sanchez stabbed to death, and Noriega was arrested on the spot.

Bond for Noriega, who was listed as a registered violent offender with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation offender database prior to the Nov. 21 incident, has been set at $1 million. The incident remains under investigation by county and tribal law enforcement.