Election concerns have prompted the Kern County Board of Supervisors to make the county Registrar of Voters a separate entity from another county department. On Tuesday the board heard a report from the county’s finance and administration committee to separate the registrar’s position from the auditor-controller-clerk post which Aimee Espinoza, the current Auditor-Controller-Clerk and Registrar…… Read More
KUZZ News
hurtado introduces bill to improve state’s water woes
Democrat State Senator Melissa Hurtado of Fresno has introduced a measure aimed at tackling California’s water crisis. Senate Bill 224, called the Preventing Artificial Water Shortages Act, addresses the state’s ongoing water mismanagement crisis by confronting the Department of Water Resources reliance on outdated data and forecasting. Hurtado says the forecast data results in artificial…… Read More
major ridgecrest drug operation busted
A large-scale drug operation has been busted in Ridgecrest. Police responded early Monday morning to reports of gunfire in the 500 block of West Atkins Avenue to find an extensive drug operation involving several suspects and a family-run distribution network. Jaren Hoff, 20, was arrested after allegedly taking off from the scene. Celia Espinoza, 42,…… Read More
Tehachapi youth pastor facing sex charges
A 41-year-old Tehachapi youth pastor has been arrested after an alleged sexual assault of a teenager. Adrian Daugherty, who is a youth pastor at the Tehachapi Church of the Nazarene, was taken into custody on Monday on charges of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a minor. There’s no word if there are any other…… Read More
kern, tulare sheriff’s deputies nab alleged copper thief
Sheriff’s deputies in Kern and Tulare Counties have announced the arrest of a man suspected of several copper wire thefts. Israel Barraza, 46, was arrested January 22 after allegedly stripping an irrigation pump in the Delano area and possessing the copper wire in his pickup truck. Damage to the pump was set at $25,000. Authorities…… Read More
man arrested on gun charges after police chase
A 36-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly leading officers on a short pursuit in a stolen car before retreating inside a northeast Bakersfield home. Danny White surrendered to police early Monday morning after reportedly hiding inside a bedroom at a house in the 3600 block of University Avenue where officers with a search warrant…… Read More
assault trio identified
Police have identified two of three people who assaulted a 75-year-old man and a waitress outside a northeast Bakersfield restaurant. A 16-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy are suspected of assaulting the victims, including hitting them with a fire extinguisher, outside Honey I’m Home on Auburn Street on October 25, 2024. Both victims were hospitalized after…… Read More
taft man accused of copper wire theft
A Taft man has been arrested for allegedly stealing copper wire. Parolee Steve Havens, 53, was apprehended Thursday in the 900 block of North Lincoln Street after Kern County Sheriff’s deputies reportedly located a basement that contained a large amount of copper wire. Havens has two prior convictions on drug possession and allegedly had drugs…… Read More
man who destroyed icu room convicted
Kern County prosecutors say he destroyed an Intensive Care room and a jury agreed. Matthew Shapiro was convicted last Thursday of felony vandalism charges at Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley Hospital after he broke a window, medical equipment, and pictures on the walls while he was a patient in ICU in April 2023. He also destroyed…… Read More
accused drunk driver to stand trial
A Bakersfield man will stand trial after an alleged drunk driving crash that killed two women in south Bakersfield. A judge on Friday found sufficient evidence for the case against Arturo Munoz, 26, to proceed. Munoz is charged with two counts of second degree murder in the crash that killed Hortencia De Haro and Vanessa…… Read More
