Fifth suspect arrested in Laytonville pot slaying

A fifth fugitive has been arrested in connection with a brutal Mendocino County pot farm slaying in November, leaving two murder suspects still at large.

Frederick Gaestel, 27, of New Jersey was arrested Friday in Virginia on a Mendocino County warrant in connection with the killing of Jeffrey Quinn Settler on Nov. 11, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Gaestel was taken into custody after someone notified the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office authorities he was wanted for murder and hiding in a vacant house. Police confirmed the warrant and surrounded the Williamsburg house. Gaestel surrendered peacefully, authorities said.

He is expected to be extradited to Mendocino County for prosecution, but it could take months if he fights the procedure, officials said.

Gaestel is one of seven people suspected of being involved in killing Jeffrey Settler, 35, who was found beaten and stabbed to death on his remote Laytonville property, where marijuana was grown.

Most of the suspects are believed to have worked on the pot farm. Some of the suspects had been evicted from the property days before the killing, and there may have been a dispute over payment, authorities have said.

All the suspects fled the crime scene, taking with them a woman, who initially also was thought to be a suspect, and her child. Police said the suspects may have fled with more than 100 pounds of pot. None of the marijuana has been recovered, said Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten.

Suspect Michael Andrew Kane, 26, of Pleasantville, New York, gave himself up to authorities at the Mexican border in January, telling police he was tired of running.

Zachary Ryan Wuester, 24, of Haskell, New Jersey, and Gary “Giggles” Lynn Fitzgerald, 23, of Roanoke, Illinois, surrendered separately in Mendocino County in November. Abdirahman Mohamed, 28, of San Diego was arrested in December in Southern California.

Still at large are Gary Blank III, 34, of Garberville and Jesse Wells, 33, of Laytonville. Both are believed to have fled the state.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.