Latest news with #KernCountySheriff'sOffice
Yahoo
6 days 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
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
KCSO arrests assault suspect in Frazier Park
Deputies on Thursday arrested an assault suspect in Frazier Park who took off in a Chevrolet Avalanche, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Office. Deandre Andrews, 30, of San Diego, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon when deputies stopped him on Cuddy Valley Road near Tecuya Drive following the incident at about 12:20 a.m., according to a KCSO news release. Deputies found the unnamed victim with injuries consistent with being stabbed in the 3200 block of Mt. Pinos Way. The victim was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital via ambulance. KCSO asks that anyone with information call 661-861-3110 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 661-322-4040.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
Arrest made after stabbing in Frazier Park
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A 30-year-old San Diego man was arrested after a stabbing last week in Frazier Park, sheriff's officials said. Deandre Thomas Andrews was arrested early Thursday and is being held on $30,000 bail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, inmate booking records show. Officials said deputies were called to the 700 block of Avalon Trail and learned the assailant had fled in a black Chevy Avalanche. The pickup was found on Cuddy Valley Road near Tecuya Drive. Deputies stopped the pickup and took Andrews, the only occupant, into custody, officials said. The victim was found in the 3200 block of Mt. Pinos Way and 'had injuries consistent with being stabbed,' officials said. The victim was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Kern County Sheriff's Office at 661-861-3110 or Secret Witness at 661-322-4040. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kern River lives lost sign updated to 342 during annual update
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The sign at the mouth of the canyon on Highway 178, east of Bakersfield, was updated Friday morning to show the dangers of the Kern River. If you aren't familiar with the sign, it shows how many were killed in the Kern River since officials began keeping track in 1968. On Friday, that number changed to 342 to remind visitors of the lives lost to the beautiful, but deadly, Kern River over the past 12 months. This update comes just before Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer, as school is out and families begin planning trips. Even some out-of-towners may prepare to travel to Bakersfield to enjoy our river. Kern Public Health hosts water safety press conference ahead of swimming season The Kern County Sheriff's Office is also urging a new message this year. 'It's such a vast river, it's such vast land. We have tried for years to tell that message, 'Stay Out, Stay Alive, Stay Out, Stay Alive,' every year. As you can tell, this year the message is shifting a little bit, it's like, 'Alright, you're not going to stay out, so the least you can do is take the proper precautions,' said Lori Meza, Public Information Officer with KCSO. 'We're collaborating with Kern Fire, Kern River Conservancy and with other agencies to get this message out, to tell you, 'OK, if you're going to get in, these are things you can do to be safe.'' The river has earned the moniker 'Killer Kern' for the amount of lives it has taken. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
10-year-old California girl made TikTok about 'getting kidnapped, lmao.' Then she went missing.
New details have emerged in the case against a Sacramento County man accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl whom he met on the online gaming platform Roblox. Matthew Naval was arrested on April 13 after authorities say they found him with the missing girl and her pet bird in an Elk Grove strip mall, over 250 miles from her Kern County home. Naval has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges for kidnapping and lewd acts with a minor. Naval, 27, told a deputy from the Kern County Sheriff's Office that the girl had said she was 18. He said he agreed to pick her up so she could "escape" verbal abuse at home and they could be together as a couple, according to a report submitted by the deputy and filed in Kern County Superior Court. Naval allegedly admitted she looked younger in person, telling a deputy he thought she was maybe 17. He ended the interview by saying, "I think it would be best if I don't know how old she is," the deputy's report says. His attorney, Mark Anthony Raimondo, told The Times that Naval has mental health challenges and may have autism. The day before the girl went missing, she posted a video on TikTok with the caption, "First time getting kidnapped, lmao," and footage shot out of a car window, according to a report filed by a deputy. She also told friends she was going to pay someone to kidnap her, according to another deputy's report. Read more: Girl was kidnapped by man who messaged her on Roblox, officials say. 10-year-old found safe The girl told an Elk Grove Police officer that Naval picked her up around midnight to hang out at a park. She said she got distracted talking with him and did not realize that they were heading away from her home in the city of Taft until around three hours later, the officer wrote in court documents. She told the officer she wanted to go home at that point, but didn't tell Naval because she did not know how to ask, documents say. When asked by a sheriff's deputy what she would like to see happen to Naval, she said, "I would like to know that he doesn't do it to anyone else," the deputy reported. The pair allegedly met on Roblox in March and had chatted on Discord for several weeks. Naval claims he didn't know what she looked like until he picked her up in April, according to court records. He allegedly told law enforcement that they had masturbated together online — him with his camera on and her with her camera off, according to a deputy's report. He said that he kissed her on the lips "a few times" and held her hand during their drive, but that they did not have any sexual contact. He also told a deputy that if they got a hotel and she would have been willing to have sex he would have "seriously considered it," the document states. He tried to get a motel room for them to stay at in Fresno, court documents state, but was turned down because he lacked two forms of identification. Raimondo argued that Naval did not understand the nature of the situation or the girl's age, given his mental health challenges. "I think Roblox has to take some responsibility here. I think the parents have to take some responsibility," he said. "The penalty for this travesty, which is a really, really huge misunderstanding, should not fall on Matthew's shoulders alone." In an interview with local news station KGET, Naval said he did not learn her real age until he was arrested and that it "sickens" him every time hears it. "I should've been more careful," he told the outlet. "I should've been more questioning when it came to having that person involved." Read more: Chilean man groomed 13-year-old girl he met on Roblox before flying to U.S. to meet her, police say Roblox is an online platform where users can design their own games and invite others to play. It reports having 97.8 million daily active users with a core demographic of children and teens. Naval told a sheriff's deputy that the Roblox is "kiddish," but he plays it for the "social aspect." The platform has drawn criticism for how it can be used by pedophiles to message children, and in extreme cases, kidnap them. Roblox has said that it takes any behavior on its platform that doesn't abide by its standards "extremely seriously." 'We continuously evolve and enhance our safety approach to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity," the company said in a 2024 statement. "This includes text chat filters to block inappropriate words and phrases, and not allowing user-to-user image sharing on Roblox." A family member reported the girl missing when she was not in her bed around 8 a.m. on April 13, according to court documents. A relative said the girl did not have a history of running away or mental health issues, but that he had taken away her phone in the past because she was communicating with strangers on applications. Later that day, family members used a "find my device" app to see that her cellphone was near Elk Grove and connected to a network called "Matthew's Wifi," according to a deputy's report filed in court. They also found a friend of the girl on Roblox with the username "TheMatt3798." Deputies say they then learned the account was registered to a Matthew Naval, who lived in Elk Grove. Naval was also the registered owner of a 2014 Honda Civic that license plate readers had captured driving through McKittrick in Kern County at 3:17 a.m on April 13 and then farther north in Kettleman City in Kings County at 4:10 a.m., authorities say. The Sheriff's Office contacted the Elk Grove Police Department for assistance. Officers then found the girl and Naval at a strip mall near his home and took him into custody, according to authorities. Naval is being held in a Bakersfield jail in lieu of $1.35-million bail, according to Kern County inmate records. He was charged on April 18 with a count of kidnapping, a count of kidnapping a child under 14 to commit lewd or lascivious acts, two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, a count of exhibiting harmful material to a minor, a count of contacting a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense and a count of contacting a minor to commit a sexual offense, all felonies, court records show. Naval has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is scheduled to appear in court on June 25. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
