Bakersfield City and Kern County firefighters responded Saturday afternoon to Sumner and Inyo Streets where a building was engulfed in flames. Cal Water and Pacific Gas and Electric were also at the scene to help with utility issues. People reported seeing black smoke from as far away as the Rosedale area. No one was injured.…… Read More
Teen Shot in Central Bakersfield
A seventeen-year-old is nursing gunshot wounds after a shooting in central Bakersfield. Police responded Friday night to California Avenue and Chester Lane where they found the teenager suffering major injuries. There’s no information about the case. Anyone with details is asked to contact the Bakersfield Police Department.… Read More
Car Seat Event Scheduled
A free car seat check event will be held on Friday, Nov. 1 in southeast Bakersfield, but you’d better get there early. The event sponsored by the Community Action Partnership of Kern will serve the first forty people who show up at the Friendship House Community Center on South MLK Jr. Boulevard. Hours are from…… Read More
Bakersfield Wine Thief Sentenced
A Kern County jury has acquitted a man of robbery and battery after he was accused of stealing alcohol from a Bakersfield grocery store. Jose Lopez could have spent thirty years to life in prison because of prior convictions had the jury decided he was guilty of felony charges after he stole two bottles of…… Read More
Former Stallion Springs Cop Enters Plea to Sex Charges
A former police officer with the Stallion Springs Police Department has entered a plea to charges he sexually assaulted a teenager. James Best Jr., 53, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to seven felony counts. The alleged victim is now an adult who told authorities last year Best had been molesting her since she was nine years…… Read More
Two Men Found Dead in South Bakersfield
Two men have been found dead at a home in south Bakersfield. Sheriff’s deputies responded Tuesday afternoon to a house on Cresson Court near Charterten Avenue to discover the victims inside shot to death. Homicide detectives are piecing together clues. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.… Read More
Coroner Reports on Lamont Boy’s Death
It was homicide. That’s the word from the Kern County Coroner’s Office on the cause of death for a young Lamont boy. Tristen Rodriguez, 12, was shot and killed October 10, 2024 in the 8800 block of Gregory Avenue. A juvenile was arrested on suspicion of second degree murder in the case.… Read More
Former Stallion Springs Cop Extradited to Kern County
A former Stallion Springs cop accused of sexually abusing a child has returned to Kern County. James Best, Jr., 53, was been booked into Lerdo Jail Monday after being transported from Maine to California. He was arrested in Maine in August after prosecutors say the alleged victim told authorities Best sexually abused her from the…… Read More
Judge Orders Rosamond Man to Stand Trial
A judge has determined there’s enough evidence to order a man to stand trial for a deadly stabbing in Rosamond. Raul Rodriguez, 43, faces a charge of first-degree murder after sheriff’s deputies responded May 31, 2024 to a stabbing near Harvell Place and Sierra Highway where they discovered the body of Gary Martin, 48, in…… Read More
Bakersfield Pimp Sentenced
A man who repeatedly threatened and hit a woman he pimped on Union Avenue will spend more than two decades in prison. Darrell Lawrence Meeken, 32, was sentenced last week to twenty one years and four months in prison after being found guilty in August of human trafficking, pimping and pandering. Authorities say Meeken pleaded…… Read More
