Hearings on homicide cases take place

The two preliminary hearings for men accused of murder are set to be heard in the Humboldt County Superior Courthouse on Thursday.

Russell Albers, accused of fatally shooting Daniel Garcia and Jennifer Paddock on Dec. 27 in the Pine Hill area near Eureka, will have a hearing. In total, he was charged with 11 felonies and two misdemeanors.

Albers was also accused of kidnapping a woman named Jana Baszler and hitting her with a firearm, causing great bodily injury. He was arrested after a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 101 in northern Humboldt County.

Garcia and Paddock had a 4-year-old child who was present at the home where they were killed, and Albers was also accused of child endangerment.

At a pre-trial conference, Deputy District Attorney Luke Bernthal said the people were not seeking the death penalty. Albers is not eligible for bail and has stayed at the county jail since his arrest Dec. 28.

The case against 24-yearold Gregory Mattox is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on whether he fatally shot 36-year-old Joshua Paul Gephart, who was found dead on the 5000 block of Boyd Road in Arcata on July 2.

On Monday, dates were set for the misdemeanor threat case against Aunna Bollmann, who is accused of threatening to kill several elected officials and prominent community members.

Initially, Bollman was granted her own recognizance release under the condition that she wear an ankle monitor and not contact any of the protected parties. However, she was re-arrested after removing the ankle monitor, and posted her $25,000 bail Sept. 2. Her trial confirmation is Dec. 6 with her trial set for Dec. 18.