Local briefs

A 37-year-old Menlo Park man accused of chasing his brother with a knife after refusing to stop watching their mother undress will stand trial on multiple felonies including assault and battery.

Manuel Ricardo Alfonso is also charged with making criminal threats and resisting arrest. If convicted of all charges, he faces approximately seven to eight years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty but was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing on the evidence.

On Dec. 11, according to the District Attorney’s Office, Alfonso entered his mother’s bedroom and refused to leave as she undressed. After he announced "the devil in me is going to come out,” the mother reportedly called for her other son. The two men began arguing and Alfonso allegedly grabbed a butcher knife.

After a chase, the brother fled the house but blocked the door to keep Alfonso inside. Alfonso allegedly stabbed through the door several times. Menlo Park police arrested Alfonso after a 20-minute standoff when he barricaded himself in the house and refused to come out.

Alfonso remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail. He returns to court Feb. 14 to enter a Superior Court plea and set a trial date.

Molester facing 19 years

A Daly City man accused of repeated molesting two young girls and impregnated a 15-year-old faces 19 years in prison after pleading no contest to 28 felonies.

Lamar Marcel York, 26, took a plea bargain just before his 5-year-old victim was set to testify against him. The court increased the offer from the original agreement, leaving York facing up to 19 years in prison when he is sentenced March 16.

York, according to prosecutors, repeatedly molested his cousin’s five-year-old daughter and girlfriend’s 7-year-old daughter between 2001 and 2005. He remains in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail.

New Peninsula blood bank to open in Millbrae

Blood Centers of the Pacific will open its new blood donation center in Millbrae next week, a spokeswoman announced yesterday.

The 8,000-square foot Peninsula location at 111 Rollins Road will open its doors on Tuesday, about a week later than earlier planned, according to spokeswoman Lisa Bloch.

In addition to its regular blood donor beds, the new center will offer new seated donation portals at which donors can go online or watch DVDs while donating specific blood components such as platelets. The apheresis "e-Chairs” can take about 90 minutes for donors, Bloch said.

The center had previously been located at the Mills-Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame, where it received about 50 blood donors a day, according to Bloch. Retrofit work at the hospital forced the center to move to a temporary San Mateo location, where blood donations dropped slightly.

Staff are hoping to once again greet at least 50 donors each day at the new Millbrae location, Bloch said.

The center is also planning a grand opening event on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at 11 a.m. with gifts and sweets for guests. Millbrae Mayor Marc Hershman and other local officials will be on hand for the event.

The Peninsula blood bank will be open Monday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To donate blood, call (888) 393-GIVE or visit http:www.bloodcenters.org.

Murder trial delayed for juvenile, adult accomplice

The youngest boy ever charged with murder as an adult in San Mateo County and alleged adult accomplice had their trial postponed until July so the defense can retest the evidence.

Josue Orozco, 16, and Faustino Ayala, 22, were scheduled for trial Feb. 26 but their respective attorneys asked for more time. They were ordered back July 9 — just three days shy of the two-year anniversary of Francisco Rodriguez’s July 12, 2005 shooting in Redwood City.

According to the prosecution, the defendants and three juveniles encountered Rodriguez near his apartment carport at 475 Redwood Ave. Orozco, then 14, allegedly got out of the car, covered his face, pulled a gun from his waistband and, as Rodriguez turned, fired a shot.

The five alleged Sureños, including Orozco’s younger brother, were arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting and Orozco allegedly confessed. All were charged with murder and a special gang allegation.

The three minor suspects already underwent a juvenile court proceeding but a verdict has not been returned. Orozco’s age made him ineligible for the death penalty but he could receive life in prison without parole because of the special circumstances. Unless Ayala is convicted of a lesser crime, he faces life in prison without parole.

All the defendants remain in custody.

PG&E awards incentive for hotel fuel cell plant

Pacific Gas and Electric Company presented Alliance Star Energy LLC with a ceremonial $1.25 million incentive check to help pay for a fuel cell electric power plant at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel in Millbrae.

PG&E has now provided more than $200 million in clean energy incentives to customers in its service territory.

The power plant from FuelCell Energy, Inc. will generate 500 kilowatts of green energy by converting fuel into hydrogen, hot water and electricity. The Westin’s ultra-clean Direct FuelCell units will generate approximately 100 percent of the hotel’s electricity requirements. In addition, surplus heat from the power plant will be captured to provide 40 percent of the hotel’s thermal requirements for hot water and heating the swimming pool.

Three nabbed for thievery

Two men and a woman were arrested Thursday morning after South City police found stolen items in their motel room and car.

At approximately 8 a.m., officers on a routine patrol at a motel on the 100 block of Hickey Boulevard noticed a suspicious vehicle which was determined to be stolen. The officers watched the car until 10:30 a.m. when a woman approached. She said she was staying with two men in the motel. The officers went to the room and found stolen credit cards, drivers’ licenses, cellular phone chargers and electronics, according to police.

There were also stolen credit cards, drivers’ licenses, car stereos, cell phone chargers, tool sets and several burglary tools, according to police.

Erwin Bautista, 25, of San Francisco, Lee Harvey Garica, 25, of Daly City, and Ma Cresilda Cervania Onia, 26, of Foster City, were all arrested and booked into San Mateo County Jail, according to police.