Latest news with #KernCountyPublicDefender'sOffice
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
He said he was trying to move a pickup blocking an exit. He's charged with vehicle theft
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — While at a nearby welding shop, Eli Wall told deputies, he noticed a parked pickup blocking the exit of a business on South Union Avenue. He was only helping move the truck when deputies arrived, Wall said. He was arrested and charged with vehicle theft. Last week, Wall's trial ended with jurors deadlocked — and a retrial scheduled next month. He faces three years in prison if convicted, according to a release from the Kern County Public Defender's Office. 'Helping someone move a truck doesn't make you a car thief,' Deputy Public Defender Julius Cruz said in the release. 'Eli stayed, talked, and told the truth. That's not guilt — that's trying to do the right thing.' On the afternoon of June 4, 2023, deputies patrolling in the 1100 block of South Union Avenue received a hit from their license plate reader that a white Chevy Silverado parked in front of a business had been reported stolen. They parked behind the pickup. Wall got out and deputies detained him. Wall told them he'd been trying to perform a good deed, helping two women move the truck out of the way. The women left when deputies arrived, according to the release. The mistrial was declared Friday, and a retrial set for May 27. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
4-year vandalism case ends in acquittal after 20-minute deliberation
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The vandalism case filed against Gary Hatler dragged on more than four years. It ended minutes after the jury received it. Hatler was found not guilty Tuesday after jurors deliberated for about 20 minutes, according to a release from the Kern County Public Defender's Office. 'The jury's quick verdict reflects what we've known all along — the evidence didn't support the charges,' said Deputy Public Defender Elvia Zepeda. 'A four-year wait for a 20-minute verdict speaks volumes.' The case has its origin in July 2020, when Hatler's ex-girlfriend reported he showed up to retrieve personal belongings then hit her Dodge Ram with a flashlight and kicked it, causing hundreds of dollars in damage. The case was filed as a felony on Sept. 15, 2020, and a warrant was issued the same day, according to the release. But this was during the pandemic, when most cases were given lengthy postponements. It wasn't until May 1, 2024, that Hatler was arraigned. The Public Defender's Office got the vandalism charge reduced to a misdemeanor. A second charge of violating a restraining order was dismissed over insufficient evidence that the order had been properly served, according to the release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Man acquitted of 2023 shooting at SE Bakersfield corral
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury has acquitted a man who faced 24 years in prison in connection with a 2023 shooting that occurred in a corral in southeast Bakersfield. Jurors found Jose Higareda Gutierrez not guilty of shooting a man in the foot, according to a release from the Kern County Public Defender's Office. Higareda Gutierrez's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jacob Evans, said the jury found his client credible when he testified to the events that occurred the night of June 17, 2023. Witnesses to testify at Zack Scrivner hearing March 10 Higareda Gutierrez said the alleged victim — who had attacked him on a prior occasion — went after him that night. He said another person intervened and fired a shot at the ground to stop the attack. Evans said Higareda Gutierrez is known in Bakersfield for riding his Brahma bull, Zuki, in parades. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
