LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An Upper Lake couple waived their preliminary hearing on Wednesday in a marijuana cultivation case stemming from the investigation into a Christmas Day shooting in 2013.

With the waiving of Wednesday's scheduled hearing, James Michael Jean, 52, and his wife, Nora Katherine Jean, 50, will return to court on May 19 for arraignment in order to begin the process for moving toward trial, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.

They both are facing felony charges of possession of marijuana for sale, furnishing or transporting marijuana and a special allegation of being armed in the commission of a felony, according to court documents.

James Jean is facing additional felony charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and a strike allegation for five robbery charges – for which he was convicted on the same day in April 1992 – in Orange County, the filings showed.

California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation officials confirmed to Lake County News that James Jean was incarcerated in the 1990s for those convictions.

Lakeport attorney Anakalia Sullivan, who is representing Nora Jean, said it's anticipated that the two pending criminal cases are to be consolidated.

Jeffrey Schwartz of Humboldt County, who specializes in marijuana-related cases and is representing James Jean, did not respond to a message left for him on Wednesday seeking comment.

The Jeans were arrested on Dec. 26, 2013, with law enforcement originally responding to their Upper Lake home on Hunter Point Road the previous morning after receiving a 911 call that an intruder at the residence had been shot.

Deputies arriving at the scene found the body of county resident 30-year-old Maurice Oliver Watts III, along with a replica handgun nearby.

Lake County Superior Court records showed that Watts had several local convictions for theft, battery, violating probation, carrying a concealed weapon and first-degree burglary.

The subsequent service of search warrants led to the seizure of hundreds of pounds of marijuana, three handguns and 13 rifles – some of which were high-powered, assault-style weapons, according to a sheriff's report – at the Jeans' home, a business they own in Upper Lake and at a Broadway Avenue address in Nice, authorities said.

Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told Lake County News that the agency's investigators completed the investigation and submitted it to the District Attorney's Office.

“They gave us that case and this is what we filed on it,” said Grothe.

As for the death of Watts, “There’s not sufficient evidence to file murder charges,” Grothe said.

Sullivan said the Jeans “are the victims of an attempted home invasion style robbery of their home, not criminals,” and cited their contributions to the county through their business and community work, adding, “this prosecution is unfounded and has maligned their reputation in the community.”

She said Nora Jean “looks forward to restoring her and her family's good name through the process of fighting these cases.”

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