A 53-year-old man is facing charges after a standoff with Bakersfield Police. The incident began with a domestic violence call at 4:11p.m. Monday on South Haley Street near De Wolfe Street, where Mauro Gonzales was allegedly threatening his girlfriend with a knife. She escaped but he refused orders to come out, and was eventually arrested…… Read More
It took Kern County firefighters several hours to fully extinguish a haystack fire near Shafter that put up smoke that could be seen for miles. The Swan Fire on Swan Lane near Enos Lane was reported just after 11:30 a.m. Thursday, and the black smoke was from burning tires and trash that had also ignited.…… Read More
BPD confirms a man has been arrested in northeast Bakersfield after a standoff with officers at an apartment complex. The incident early Tuesday evening on Hilldale Court off Fairfax Road started with a domestic violence call, and a woman and her children got out safely, but crisis negotiators were unable to convince 30-year-old Paul McCormack…… Read More
Two Southern California women are in the Kern County Jail on drug trafficking charges. The CHP says they were busted during a traffic stop Friday afternoon on Northbound Interstate 5 near State Route 223, and a search of the vehicle turned up over 10 pounds of powdered fentanyl worth over $454,000 in the dashboard. It’s…… Read More
The Boil Water Notice for Cal Water customers near Truxtun Lake has been lifted after crude oil leached into the water supply last week. The company says an improper connection during pressure testing caused the water supply to businesses in the area to be contaminated on Tuesday, including Moo Creamery, and the all clear was…… Read More
A wind-driven fire northwest of Rosamond that’s challenged firefighters for days has been fully contained. The West Fire broke out Sunday and was marked by erratic winds that kept changing directions, with flames that threatened solar farms and homes at times. Kern County crews got reinforcements from the BLM and LA County Fire, with a…… Read More
The huge building that once housed the Great American Antiques store in downtown Bakersfield is a total loss from an overnight fire. Bakersfield Fire Battalion Chief Tim Ortiz says they got the call around 11:40 p.m. Monday. The fire also destroyed a power pole on 19th and R streets but Ortiz says the two story-structure…… Read More
A Sacramento man who lured a 16-year-old Bakersfield girl into working for him as a prostitute has been sentenced to 15-years-to-life for sex trafficking of a minor. Prosecutors say Rico Herring met the victim through an app and sent her a bus ticket, promising her a romantic relationship, but then assaulted and stranded her in…… Read More
Kern County firefighters needed a ladder truck, a dozer and a backhoe to put out a two alarm fire in an East Bakersfield warehouse. It was reported around 8:00 a.m. Thursday at the 30,000 square foot steel structure on Washington Street and East Brundage Lane, but burning flares and hand sanitizer at the property made…… Read More
Kern County is celebrating the completion of a $41-million, state-of-the-art Coroner’s Facility in north Bakersfield. Division Chief Dawn Ratliff says the need for the expansion became especially dire during Covid but the project has been in the making for decades, and great care was taken to include security and fire safety protections… The current Coroner’s…… Read More
