Courtesy KBAK
BAKERSFIELD, CA (KUZZ) — Authorities have released the name of a convicted sex offender who held hostages during a dramatic bomb-threat situation in downtown Bakersfield.
On Tuesday, Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, entered the Chase Bank building at 17th Street and Chester Avenue, claiming he had explosives strapped to his body, then tied up ten hostages, and barricaded himself inside.
The tense stand-off lasted into early Wednesday morning when FBI agents gained access to the hallway where Searles-Harris was hunkered down and fatally shot him.
No hostages were harmed.
One of the hostages was the daughter of KUZZ News Director Jeff Lemucchi’s wife, Jan.
Officials later determined the explosives were not real.
Searles-Harris had previously served prison time for sex crimes involving underage girls and was released in 2018.
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