Felony case suspects in court

Three local high-profile felony cases were in Tehama County Superior Court on Monday, two for arraignments and one for a preliminary hearing.

Clifford Manuel Palmer, 46, of Corning, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in connected with the death of his 40-year-old stepbrother, Fermin "Mitch" Alberro.

He is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 22.

Palmer and Alberro, both reportedly intoxicated, were in a fist fight at their Flournoy Avenue home when Alberro fell unconscious and was unresponsive around 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 27, reported the Tehama County Sheriff's Office.

Efforts to revive Alberro were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead on scene.

Palmer remains in the Tehama County Jail on $60,000 bail.

Assault with firearm

Kenneth Blane Eden, 52, of Cor ing, pleaded not guilty Monday to a host of felony charges in connection to the holding his girlfriend hostage during an armed standoff with police on Nov. 16.

Eden, who reportedly held a gun to his girlfriend's head during the standoff, pleaded not guilty to assault with a firearm by force likely to produce great bodily injury, making criminal threats and two counts of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. A special allegation of use of firearm is attached to each charge.

Eden had previously waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled for a trial readiness conference on Feb. 25. A trial date has been set for April 10.

The standoff began around 2:50 p.m. when Corning police received to a call that a man was holding a woman at gunpoint at a home on the 500 block of Stanmar Drive.

When police arrived, they were told Eden was inside the home with his live-in girlfriend, Virginia Burrill, 43, and he was holding a handgun to her head.

Around 3:20 p.m., Eden walked Burrill to the front door and allowed her to leave.

Police said she had bruising to her abdomen and right arm and she reported hearing two clicks as Eden held the gun to her head. She also told police he had tried to strangle her.

Around 4:15 p.m. Eden stepped out of the home with his hands raised.

Daycare sex abuse claimed

The Gerber man accused of sexually molesting at least eight children in his wife's in-home day care pleaded not guilty during is his second arraignment Monday on a host of sexual charges.

Ralph Elvis Martin, 64, entered the plea to four felony counts of oral copulation, sexual penetration with a child under 10, forcible oral copulation with a child under 14 with special allegation of aggravated circumstances, and six counts of lewd acts upon a child, with special allegations of aggravated circumstances.

He was arrested Nov. 6 at his home, which is also the site of Country Kids Daycare on Redland Avenue.

The case began with a complaint involving a 4-year-old child at an area hospital. Tehama County sheriff's investigators were called in on Nov. 5, according to Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen.

From there, seven other children have come forward.

Of the eight reported victims, seven are girls and one is a boy, ages 2 to 10, said Tehama County sheriff's Det. Chad Dada.

Tehama County Superior Court Judge Jonathan W. Skillman set Martin's bail at $2 million.