The state parole board has granted parole to a former gang leader convicted in Kern County. Ricky Black was a member of the street gang Nazi Low Riders and was sentenced to 75 years to life for ordering a fatal stabbing in September 1999. Authorities say the victim, T.J. Taylor, was stabbed at a park…… Read More
A 36-year-old man and his mother have been arrested after a child sex investigation in northwest Bakersfield. Kern County Sheriff’s deputies say Jacob Rah is accused of molesting a minor and trying to intimidate a witness. His mother Veronica Rah, 81, was arrested for alleged conspiracy. Jacob also faces sex and drug charges in a…… Read More
The mayor Pro Tem of California City has been arrested on federal charges. The Justice Department says Michael Kulikoff is accused of moving a mercury-contaminated SUV to hide it from emergency crews. Someone had allegedly spilled a glass jar containing mercury inside the vehicle at Kulikoff’s car wash in February. Prosecutors say Kulikoff conspired to…… Read More
A Wofford Heights man is behind bars after a wild police chase from Ridgecrest into the Mojave desert. Officers say Eric Schilling, 22, took off from a traffic stop Sunday night at speeds over a hundred miles per hour. Police say he crashed through gates, ran stop signs, and ignored red lights, all with a…… Read More
The Kern County Coroner’s Office has ruled the death of a Lerdo Justice Facility inmate an accident. Officials say Jose Tovar, 50, of Shafter, died from meth and alcohol toxicity. He was found unresponsive around 3:30 a.m. March 19, 2025, and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.… Read More
The Kern County Coroner’s Office has identified a man killed in a hit and run accident in north Bakersfield Officials say John Ross, 48, died April 23 after being hit by a truck as he was walking along the Chester Bridge in the 4200 block of Chester Avenue. Another man walking with Ross was injured.…… Read More
PETA will be in Bakersfield Monday. People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals released a statement Friday announcing their “Hell on Wheels” truck will be parked outside Bakersfield Barbecue Company on 21st Street in central Bakersfield in protest of the nation’s meat industry. The truck looks like it carries real pigs heading to slaughter and…… Read More
A new report shows Kern County ranks first in the state for the rate of cases filed under Proposition 36. The Public Policy Institute of California says Kern County prosecutors filed 24 cases per 100,000 residents, making Kern the county with the highest rate of felony filings using Proposition 36. Orange County ranks Number Two…… Read More
A Kern County inmate who shot at a police officer in Los Angeles has been denied parole. The California Board of Parole Hearings ruled last week that Tony Wilson, 39, still poses a danger to the public. Wilson pleaded guilty to firing three rounds from a .357 Magnum handgun at a police officer during a…… Read More
Vatican News — Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, will preside at the Rite of Sealing of the Coffin of the late Pope Francis, ahead of the papal funeral on Saturday morning. The liturgical rite will be attended by several Cardinals and Holy See officials. It will mark the end of public…… Read More
