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
KUZZ News
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
Kern Coroner Identifies Woman Killed in Crash Involving Police Cruiser
The Kern County coroner has released the name of a woman killed in a crash involving a Bakersfield Police cruiser in east Bakersfield. Krystal Reynaga, 26, of Wasco was a passenger in a car that collided with a cop car at Kern and Niles Streets on October 13th. She died at Kern Medical. Jeremiah Hernandez,…… Read More
County Supervisor Accused of Violating County Code
A Kern County Supervisor has been accused of using county resources for her own political interests. But 5th District supervisor Leticia Perez told fellow supervisors Monday she feels she’s being unfairly targeted by the District Attorney’s office after a community member made allegations that a Perez staff member violated county code by holding political meetings…… Read More
Kern County Fire Dept. Helps Ukraine
The Kern County Fire Department has joined the effort to lend aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia. The department has donated a retired – but functioning –fire engine to help Ukraine’s civilian population. 14-thousand Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed and up to a million people have been wounded since Russia invaded…… Read More
Convicted Bakersfield Rapist Sentenced
A man convicted of murder and rape in the death of an 85 year old Bakersfield woman will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sergio Gonzalez-Herrera, 33, learned his fate Friday after attacking the victim at her home near Valley Plaza Mall in November 2021. She died the next month. Prosecutors say…… Read More
