LAKEPORT, Calif. – An Upper Lake couple whose property was the scene of a fatal Christmas day shooting were in court on Monday for charges relating to large amounts of marijuana and weapons found in their possession during the death investigation.
James Michael Jean, 50, and his wife Nora Katherine Jean, 49, were arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Monday afternoon, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe.
Grothe said the Jeans were arraigned on charges related to the discovery of marijuana, weapons and ammunition found at an address on Broadway Avenue in Nice and at their business, Lake County Car Audio and Security in Upper Lake.
As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed against the Jeans involving the fatal Christmas morning shooting of 30-year-old Maurice Oliver Watts at their home at 1475 Hunter Point Road outside of Upper Lake, or the discovery of marijuana or weapons at the same location, Grothe said.
“That case is still under investigation,” Grothe said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that James Jean had called 911 to report that he had shot an intruder who attempted to break into his home.
Watts was found shot to death in an area of the Jeans' property that appeared to have formerly been a marijuana grow. The sheriff's office said he was found with a fake gun.
Officials did not release details of Watts’ injuries pending the results of a Monday autopsy.
During the investigation into the shooting, Sheriff's Narcotics Unit detectives found and seized 980 pounds of marijuana, three handguns, 13 rifles, and restricted armor piercing and tracer ammunition at the three properties, officials reported.
The counts against both James and Nora Jean include cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale at Lake County Car Audio and Security, 325 W. Highway 20, Upper Lake; cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale at 6841 Broadway in Nice; and a special allegation of possession of multiple firearms in the commission of a felony.
Separate counts filed only against James Jean include two charges of a felon in possession of ammunition, one charge of a felon in possession of weapons, and a special allegation of convictions for previous violent felonies, including five second-degree robbery cases that he was convicted of in 1992 in Orange County.
Altogether, James Jean has six prior second-degree robbery convictions, five of them occurring in the Santa Ana area of Orange County, according to Grothe.
Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told Lake County News that James Jean was in state prison from 1992 to 2000 due to the robbery cases, which came from Orange as well as Los Angeles counties.
The only previous case against James Jean locally is a 2006 exhibition of speed case, according to District Attorney Don Anderson. Grothe said Nora Jean has no previous criminal history.
County assessor-recorder records show that James Jean purchased the 19-acre Hunter Point Road property in November 2003.
The Jeans remain in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $500,000 for each, Grothe said.
They're being held on a “source of bail hold,” Grothe said, “Meaning they cannot post bail until they show it was obtained from legitimate, nonfelony sources.”
Grothe said the Jeans are next scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court in Department 3 at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Watts had no state prison record, Callison said, but did have a number of local criminal cases and convictions, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Anderson said Watts had a felony drug case under review stemming from a Nov. 30 arrest for selling or furnishing marijuana or hashish, and transportation of a controlled substance.
Watts also had numerous arrests going back to 1999 on charges including burglary, elder abuse, battery and terrorist threats, Anderson said.
Of those cases, Watts had several convictions that resulted in probation and minor amounts of jail time, including theft from a gas station and battery in 2002, violation of probation in 2004, petty theft for stealing from Kmart in 2007, and in 2008 carrying a concealed weapon and first-degree burglary. In the latter case, he received the most jail time of his local cases – 288 days, plus three years formal probation.
Watts and his younger brother, Cody, also were witnesses in the murder trial of John Gray, who was accused of the February 2009 beating death of Eric Joaquin. Cody Watts lived at Gray's Kelseyville home, along with Joaquin.
A jury would acquit Gray of the murder charges the following year.
Maurice Watts took the stand in the case, but jurors – who spoke to a District Attorney's Office investigator afterward – “didn't believe a word he said,” said Anderson.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.