A major solar project in eastern Kern County is now online. The Eland Solar and Battery Center near Mojave held a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday. The new facility will power over 260,000 Los Angeles homes and will cover 7% of the city’s electricity. Built by Arevon Energy, the site includes giant batteries to store solar…… Read More
Two people are behind bars after a raid in McFarland allegedly turns up ghost guns and fenatanyl. Officers searched a home in the 800 block of Fletcher Street at around 7 a.m. Monday where they arrested Ruben Garcia, 49, and Alicia Garcia, 42. Police say the drugs were packaged and the guns had no serial…… Read More
The father and stepmother of a young girl found dead inside a central Bakersfield motel have been charged with murder. Bakersfield police say the body of Genesis Mata, 8, showed signs of severe trauma when they discovered her Saturday night lying dead in the bathtub inside a room at La Quinta Inn on Riverside Drive.…… Read More
A Bakersfield man will spend two years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of spousal abuse. In March, Jerrod Gentry, 48, also admitted to being a felon in possession of a gun following the release on social media in February of a video showing him striking a woman outside a home in northwest…… Read More
Two inmates at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano will serve extended life sentences for stabbing another inmate with homemade weapons. Prosecutors say David Macon, 50, and Michael Gaddy, 49, attacked the man in the prison yard in April 2024. Authorities say the victim was headed to a family visit and tried to fight his…… Read More
Several people are in police custody following a massive brawl in east Bakersfield. It broke out Saturday night near Oregon and Robinson Streets where some thirty people were reportedly throwing chairs, breaking bottles and fighting over loud music at a baptismal party. Several band members were injured and their equipment was damaged. A man was…… Read More
The Bakersfield Police Department and the California Highway Patrol are asking for your help locating an at-risk missing juvenile. An alert was issued Monday in the search for Kiara Hernandez , 2, who was reportedly abducted by her mother, Karen Hernandez, 32. Both were last seen on Monday at around 2:05 p.m. in the 600…… Read More
Two people are behind bars after the body of a young child is found at a Bakersfield hotel. Ray Mata, Jr., 31, of Bakersfield, and Graciela Bustamonte, 27, of Delano, were apprehended on suspicion of murder, torture and several counts of child abuse. The arrests came after police responded Saturday evening to reports of an…… Read More
A 67-year-old man faces six years in prison following a shooting in California City. Gordon Tripp pleaded no contest on Friday to voluntary manslaughter. A first-degree murder charge was dismissed. Tripp shot and killed Luis Esparza, Jr., 21, during a confrontation at a home on Tamarack Avenue in December 2023. Esparza reportedly answered the door…… Read More
Legal proceedings are moving ahead for a man accused of a DUI crash that took the life of an Arvin educator. Marque Qualls, 28, will stand trial beginning August 11, 2025, on charges of second degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated following a crash that killed Larry Hallum in February 2023. Prosecutors say…… Read More
