DA: Convicted Mendocino County man dies of old age in prison

A Mendocino County man, convicted in 2019 of opening fire on his neighbors in Anchor Bay, died from natural causes this month while in state prison, prosecutors said Friday.

Harry William Miller died April 6 at the age of 75, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office. It wasn’t immediately clear where he was in custody at the time of his death.

Miller was convicted of attempted murder in June 2019 after pleading guilty to assault and attempted voluntary manslaughter stemming from a dispute on March 26, 2018.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Miller got into an argument with his neighbor, Paul Palestrini, over repairs to their shared driveway.

In March 2018, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported Miller shot Palestrini in the torso before Palestrini struck Miller’s head and neck with a shovel.

Palestrini’s wife took him to Redwood Coast Medical Services in Gualala and he was later airlifted to a Santa Rosa hospital.

“Paul Palestrini succumbed to his injuries on the operating table but was brought back to life by skilled surgeons and operating room personnel,” the District Attorney’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.

Miller also was treated for injuries he suffered during the dispute. He was arrested about three days after the shooting.

Following his conviction, a judge sentenced Miller in August 2019 to 142 months in state prison.

Miller’s wife, Susan Miller, was accused of filming the shooting and a jury convicted her in April 2019 of being an accessory, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

She was sentenced to probation in 2019 and ordered to serve 300 days in jail.

“She is no longer on probation and her whereabouts and status are unknown, except to say that she is no longer living on Mendocino’s South Coast,” the District Attorney’s Office wrote in the Facebook post.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi