Former wife defends runaway teens' driver

The former wife of a 40-year-old Gardnerville man accused of helping two teenage sisters run away from home said the suspect is a good father to their son and was probably trying to help the girls.

Jeffery Palmer is in San Joaquin County, Calif., jail on $120,000 bail, charged with felony child abduction and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

His ex-wife, Jessica Altamirano of Carson City, said she and her current husband are heading for California on Friday in an effort to seek Palmer's release on bail and bring him back to Carson City.

"I just want people to know that he is a great guy," Altamirano said. "As far as doing anything intentionally to hurt anyone, he's not that kind of person. He's been a wonderful father. He is loved and respected by many people in Gardnerville."

Altamirano said she met Palmer in 1989, when she was 17.

"We got married at a young age and had our son. Our marriage didn't work out, but we have remained friends. He would say I am one of his best friends. He still attends all our family functions," she said. "We're going to California on Friday to talk about getting him released to our custody if they would reduce the bail."

Palmer was arrested Aug. 18 in a Manteca, Calif., motel room with the 13- and 15-year-old sisters from the Gardnerville Ranchos and a 16-year-old boy. According to authorities, the room was littered with bottles of alcohol.

The girls' mother said she didn't know Palmer and he didn't have permission to be with her daughters.

Following Palmer's arrest, the girls ran away from a facility in Stockton before their parents arrived to pick them up. The girls were returned to Douglas County on Tuesday after they were picked up by a family friend at a truck stop in Winnemucca.

They are being held at the Douglas County juvenile detention center in Stateline pending a hearing Tuesday.

"I don't know Jeff's side to this story," Altamirano said. "He hasn't been able to speak publicly. He's been a great friend. He's very loyal to people he loves. Don't judge someone until you judge the facts first.

"He is not the monster he is made out to be. He should not have given those girls a ride when they asked, that was his mistake. But, why did those girls run away?" she asked.

Palmer was convicted in Douglas County in 2006 of aggravated stalking, a gross misdemeanor. He received a suspended 180-day jail sentence and was placed under the supervision of the adult probation department for one year. He completed the probation.