Driver waives preliminary hearing in killing of Fernley teen

FERNLEY, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada man accused of kidnapping and killing a Fernley teenager last year has waived his right to a preliminary hearing in justice court, clearing the way for case to move toward trial in Lyon County district court.

Troy Driver’s preliminary hearing had been scheduled to begin this week in Canal Township Justice Court in Fernley. But he signed the waiver filed in court on Tuesday and appeared via a video hookup from the jail Wednesday before Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus, who set the next status hearing for Feb. 27.

A judge determined in December he was competent to stand in trial in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Naomi Irion in March 2022.

Canal Township Justice Court Judge Lori Matheus vacated the hearing in an order on Thursday, along with a Sept. 13 hearing on Driver’s public defenders’ motion to dismiss some of the charges.

Driver faces six charges in addition to first-degree murder, including sexual assault, robbery and destroying evidence. His lawyers have argued 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.”