A bill authored by Central Valley lawmaker Dr. Jasmeet Bains which is aimed at increasing penalties for people convicted of torturing a child has been approved. Bains, a Democrat from of Delano, announced Thursday the Assembly Public Safety Committee unanimously approved Assembly Bill 1094, her legislation to nearly triple the penalty for criminal who torture…… Read More
Four people are behind bars after sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant in Taft. Kern County Sheriff’s deputies received help from Taft police to serve the warrant Thursday on Tyler Street where Luis Buenrostro and Melissa Rodriguez were arrested for drug sales, conspiracy, and other charges. Timothy Caples and Austin Casteel were also taken into…… Read More
Four people, including two children, have been arrested after allegedly stealing from unlocked cars in Ridgecrest. Officers responded Thursday morning to reports of people checking car doors in the College Heights area and caught up with a fleeing car occupied by people tossing objects from the vehicle. Landon Matthew Bard and Dillon Southard and two…… Read More
Former Biden administration Health Secretary and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday became the latest Democrat to join the crowded field seeking to become California’s next governor. The Stanford Law School graduate enters the race with a lengthy resume of government service, including stints as California attorney general, a U.S. House member and…… Read More
A state appeals court has overturned a ruling that stopped the city of Bakersfield from using weirs to reduce the flow of water in the Kern River below levels needed to keep fish alive. In 2023, a Kern County Judge issued the order after a lawsuit by the group Bring Back the Kern. But the…… Read More
A Bakersfield man accused of using a choke hold on a Kern County sheriff’s deputy is facing charges of attempted murder. Quane Sutton, 28, is being held without bail on six felony counts and two misdemeanors after the incident March 4, 2025, where he allegedly refused to let go of the deputy who was trying…… Read More
A man who sprayed bear mace on two people during a robbery at a Big Lots store in north Bakersfield will spend five years in prison after being convicted of robbery and use of a tear gas weapon. The incident happened in September 2024 when Victor Perez filled a shopping cart with items and left…… Read More
The Taft City Council last week approved a $26,000 contract with a vendor to purchase twenty new Glock 9mm handguns with mini lights and holsters. Chief of Police Damon McMinn says the new guns have a larger capacity for 17 rounds in the magazine versus 15 in the older 40-caliber models. Ammunition for the new…… Read More
A former employee of San Lauren Elementary School in Oildale is facing eleven felony counts after reportedly admitting to having sex with a teenager he used to coach. Aldrich Cadiz, 32, is also accused of using a fake social media account to obtain nude photos of the the girl and another victim. Cadiz has pleaded…… Read More
Two men have taken plea deals in connection to a deadly shooting outside the Aviator Casino in Delano. Carlos Revela, 41, pleaded no contest to first degree murder. Co-defendant Vincent Gonzalez pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter following the shooting death of David Medina, 46, outside the casino in 2014. The men will be sentenced…… Read More
