Murder suspect Ryan Anthony Tanner is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month on 10 felony counts involving a separate alleged victim who claims Tanner kidnapped him and assaulted him with various weapons.

Tanner.

The reported crimes occurred in March and April of 2019, about a year before Tanner, now 34, was arrested and charged with murdering Jason Todd Garrett in an Ettersburg-area home.

In the case now set for preliminary hearing on Jan. 18, Tanner is accused of kidnapping, threatening and assaulting Devin Timothy Stebbins.

According to the criminal complaint, the 31-year-old Stebbins claims Tanner kidnapped and then falsely imprisoned him. During the episode, Stebbins reported, Tanner assaulted him with a sawed-off shotgun, a rifle, a sword and a hammer.

Tanner also is charged with battery with serious bodily injury and with threatening Stebbins with death or great bodily injury.

This morning, before Judge Larry Killoran, defense attorney Russ Clanton asked that the preliminary hearing be delayed until after Tanner’s murder trial. Clanton said the trial could go on for months and involves “one of the most complex homicide cases I have seen in many years.” He said he didn’t see the point of taking up the lesser case at this time.

But Deputy District Attorney Jessica Acosta said the kidnapping and assault case is aging, and as time goes on memories begin to fade. She expects to call “live” witnesses, meaning civilians rather than police officers, and predicted that “without interruptions,” the hearing will last a week. Preliminary hearings ordinarily take a few hours at most.

Tanner’s murder trial is scheduled for March 21. He has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. He allegedly forced Garrett into a bathtub and then shot him with an assault rifle. The body was found buried under a water tank on Tanner’s property.

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In other court news, the preliminary hearing was rescheduled this morning for convicted murderer Demetrius Coleman and his girlfriend Alma Ahumada-Mendoza, both charged with felony welfare fraud, grand theft, perjury and conspiracy.

The hearing was set for today but Judge Kaleb Cockrum agreed to delay it until Feb. 8 at the request of the defense.

Coleman.

According to the written criminal complaint, Coleman and Ahumada-Mendoza made fraudulent statements between July and December of 2020 in order to receive financial and medical benefits. During that time Coleman, 41, was already in custody for the August 2019 murder of Johnny Mack Renfro in Rio Dell.

Ahumada-Mendoza has a child from a previous relationship, and she and Coleman have a child together.

A jury convicted Coleman more than a year ago of special-circumstance murder, meaning he is looking at life in prison without possibility of parole. He is now represented by attorney Zack Curtis, although Andrea Sullivan was his trial lawyer.

Coleman still has not been sentenced.

Although Ahumada-Mendoza was also charged with Renfro’s murder, Judge Timothy Canning dismissed charges against her at the couple’s preliminary hearing. She is out of custody but has come to court for both appearances scheduled in the fraud case.

Ahumada-Mendoza is represented by attorney Joe Judge.

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