Latest news with #KGET
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Another Romanian convicted for EBT theft in Kern County
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — On Friday, Bogdan Boceanu was convicted of stealing EBT benefits from needy families in Kern County. Boceanu was found with more than $4,000 in stolen cash and 36 cloned EBT cards. He will serve 16 months in a Kern County Jail. His defense accepted an indicated sentence by the Judge Elizabet Rodriguez. This marks the second conviction in the romanian crime ring stealing EBT benefits. Let's take a look back at how we got here. Bogdan Boceanu was arrested in Delano and had an outstanding warrant. Through our investigation we learned he was first arrested in July of 2024 at the Bank of America in Wasco. That was where he tried to place a skimmer in the ATM to clone cards. He posted bail and the case was not filed by the DA until January 2025. Three months later he was re-arrested at the Wells Fargo in Delano and not given bail. The first Romanian convicted was Alberto-Ionel Baran, who was given an indicated sentence of two years by Judge Gloria Cannon. At the end of his court case it was announced Baran had 175 EBT fraudulent cards that had over $121,000 in stolen benefits. Baran's sentencing is scheduled for June 3, and Boceanu's for August 22. Three Romanians accused of EBT theft are still making their way through Kern's court system, they are Norbert Karaba, Giorgio Marcelo, and Nicolae Bud. Mari-Mar Milica and Fernando Stantu are still wanted for their total stands at seven linked to EBT theft by Kern's Romanian Crime Ring. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tastries owner to ask U.S. Supreme Court to hear case after state court declines to hear appeal
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery, is seeking to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear her case after the California Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal in the yearslong saga, which has as its focus whether she discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to bake them a wedding cake. 'Cathy has always been clear that she was only trying to follow her faith and her conscience in standing up for what she believes in — and did so in a respectful, polite, and loving way,' Charles LiMandri, partner at LiMandri & Jonna LLP and Thomas More Society special counsel, said in a news release. 'While it is disappointing the California Supreme Court has refused to correct the injustice Cathy has endured, we hope the U.S. Supreme Court will chart a different path and restore Cathy's religious liberty,' he said. In 2017, Miller refused to bake a wedding cake for Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez Del-Rio after learning their sexual orientation. They sued her. 'Still being considered': DHS says reports of Bakersfield girl being deported are false State attorneys argued at trial Miller discriminated against the couple, while Miller's attorneys said she's a devout Christian who believes baking a wedding cake for a same-sex couple would violate her religious beliefs. They also argued the creation of a wedding cake is a form of artistic expression — and Miller can't be compelled to create a work of art against her will. Superior Court Judge Eric Bradshaw ruled in Miller's favor, finding her 'pure and expressive speech is entitled to protection under the First Amendment' and the baking of a Tastries wedding cake is 'labor-intensive' and 'artistic.' The state appealed, and in December a state appeals court reversed Bradshaw's ruling, finding the bakery's refusal to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple established 'intentional discrimination.' The California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied to hear an appeal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Family of man shot by deputy in Oildale in 2024 files lawsuit against county, KCSO
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The family of the man who was shot and killed by a Kern County deputy last March filed a lawsuit against the county and the Kern County Sheriff's Office. The lawsuit claims Cole Jackson Hughes, the man who was shot, returned home in the 200 block of East Beardsley Avenue with his wife, Lynn Hughes, March 10 after having lunch. Lynn Hughes then called 911. The lawsuit says Lynn Hughes walked over to her granddaughter's home in the 100 block of Hopkins Avenue, where she called 911 again to tell them a pellet gun near her husband was not loaded. RELATED: Family speaks out after man is killed during officer-involved shooting in Oildale After KCSO deputies arrived to confront Cole Hughes, who was sitting in his front yard, Lynn Hughes allegedly yelled out the apartment window to say her husband was holding a pellet gun that was not loaded. According to the lawsuit, deputies handcuffed Lynn Hughes and another person who was in the front yard and placed them in their patrol vehicles. Deputies then went into a home directly across from Hughes' home and shot at Cole Hughes, the lawsuit said. The Critical Incident Review video provided by KCSO last year showed Lynn Hughes calling 911 the second time to tell dispatchers her husband had a weapon, but didn't show her mention the weapon being a pellet gun or being unloaded. RELATED: Man shot, killed by deputies in Oildale had pellet rifle, wife said he had a gun 'What kind of weapon does he have?' asked the dispatcher. 'He has a gun and he has an ax,' said Hughes. According to KCSO, deputies were responding to reports of domestic violence March 10, 2024. Deputies repeatedly told Cole Hughes to put the rifle down — which was actually a pellet hunting rifle — for about 20 minutes. Deputy Nicholas Rocha was the only deputy who fired in the shooting, according to officials. Cole Hughes, 53, was shot multiple times and was taken to Kern Medical. He was pronounced dead March 11, 2024. Never miss a story: Make your homepage KCSO's Critical Incident Review Board examined the use of force April 4, 2024 and determined it was within department policy. The lawsuit also accused KCSO of keeping Lynn Hughes in custody for about two hours without access to water or a restroom despite Hughes repeatedly asking to use the restroom, causing her to urinate on herself. 17 News has reached out to Kern County for comments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man identified after crashing into fence, dying next day in Lost Hills
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Gridley man who died a day after wrecking into a fence on Highway 99 has been identified by the Kern County Coroner's Office. Nicacio Rodriguez Soria, 64, was pronounced dead April 25 after crashing a day earlier in Chico, officials said. The crash occurred on Highway 99, south of Hamilton Nord Cana Highway. Soria was pronounced dead in the 2000 block of Highway 46 in Lost Hills, at about 10:09 a.m. If you would like to support the family, click here for a link to the GoFundMe. If you have any information regarding this wreck, reach out to the California Highway Patrol at 530-332-2800. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Karim Reyad murder trial postponed to September
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The trial of Karim Reyad, charged with murder in a crash in 2023 that killed a 66-year-old woman, was postponed to September after a defense attorney on Friday said an expert witness was still working on the case. The trial, which had been set for next month, is now scheduled for Sept. 2. Reyad, 20, is alleged to have been driving more than 100 mph while impaired by marijuana when his Dodge Challenger slammed into a Honda Civic near the intersection of Campus Park Drive and Evening Star Way in southwest Bakersfield. The Honda's driver, Gayla Sue Price, was pronounced dead at the scene of the April 18, 2023, crash. Reyad is charged with second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, among other crimes. Vigil held for 11-year-old boy hit by a car in East Bakersfield There is no standard legal measurement for impairment by marijuana — something Reyad's attorneys have raised at prior hearings. They've also questioned the reliability of witness statements and data obtained from the heavily-damaged Dodge. A prosecutor has said Reyad's driving behavior on the day of the crash and the days leading up to it rose to the level of implied malice required for the second-degree murder count. Reyad bought the Dodge on April 12, and replaced the tires twice before the crash because he performed frequent burnouts at his home and other locations, according to his statement to Bakersfield police investigators. A week before the collision, he was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired by marijuana. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
