Two women are dead after a murder-suicide in southwest Bakersfield. Police detectives went to a residence in the 7500 block of Lordsburg Drive east of Gosford Road Sunday morning at around 3 o’clock to check the welfare of a resident to find two women dead. No word yet on their identities.… Read More
Former Arvin Teacher Will Stand Trial
A former Arvin teacher accused of engaging in sex acts with an underage student will stand trial on seven felony counts. A judge last week found there was sufficient evidence for the case against Michael Parra, 44, to go to trial. Court documents indicate Parra’s wife contacted authorities in November 2023 after finding sexually graphic…… Read More
Kern DA: Charges Against Salas Unfounded
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office says a complaint filed against a candidate for county supervisor is unfounded. The DA’s office said Friday allegations of misconduct against Kimberly Salas are baseless. District 5 supervisor Leticia Perez’s chief of staff claims Salas was engaging in campaign-related communications during an event last week for her race against…… Read More
Changes to Delano Cop Car Take-Home Policy
Delano cops who live fifty miles from police headquarters can now take their patrol cars home with them. The city council has decided to adjust the distance from eight miles to fifty miles to allow for greater response times for police officers. Critics say it does no good for policing in the city of Delano…… Read More
Kern Coroner IDs Man Who Died Trimming Palm Tree
We’ve learned the name of a man who died as he trimmed a palm tree in east Bakersfield. On October 17, Kern County Firefighters found Fermin Leiva, 55, unconscious trapped beneath a heavy load of palm fronds at a house in the 800 block of Plaza Street. Rescuers say he’d been unresponsive for about thirty…… Read More
Kern County Prisoner Denied Parole
The California Parole Board has denied release of a Kern County prison inmate convicted of murder and several violent crimes. James Flores, 48, was found guilty of killing Jadesun Reyes on March 18, 2000, and assault with a deadly weapon on another victim in Los Angeles County. Flores stabbed a corrections officer in November 2000…… Read More
Ridgecrest Teenager Dies in Car Accident
Ridgecrest Police are investigating after the death of a teenager struck by a car. It happened early Saturday morning in the 400 block of West Las Flores Avenue where a girl, 15, was found unresponsive. First responders couldn’t save her. Police think the incident was an accident and not intentional. Anyone with information is urged…… Read More
Elderly Bakersfield Man Struck By Pickup Identified
The Kern County Coroner’s Office has identified a man who was hit and killed by a vehicle in south Bakersfield. Fernando Espinosa, 84, of Bakersfield, was walking on Potomac Avenue at South King Street near Union Cemetery when he was struck by a pickup on October 16. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police…… Read More
Two Arrested After Bakersfield CHP Discover Alleged Chop Shop
Two people have been apprehended after California Highway Patrol officers found stolen cars in Bakersfield. The CHP’s Kern County Auto Theft Task Force reports finding two stolen vehicles and several dismantled cars after receiving information online about someone trying to sell parts from an alleged stolen car. That information led officers to a house in…… Read More
Bakersfield Gang Member Found Guilty of Killing Child
Guilty of murder. That’s the decision of a jury in the case of a gang member accused of gunning down a young Bakersfield boy. Jonathan Knight was convicted Monday on eleven counts of murder in the shooting death of Kayson Guyton, 5, who was inadvertently shot and killed during a car-to-car shooting between rival gang…… Read More
