Man arrested on drug, firearm charges

Officers from the Kern County Probation Department arrested a man on Tuesday in east Bakersfield for allegedly being in possession of drugs, a firearm and a large amount of U.S. currency.

According to a news release from the probation department, its High-Risk Offender Unit conducted a home call in the 1400 block of Murdock Street and located 25-year-old Fausto Machado, who was on felony probation. Officers located a loaded .40 caliber firearm, two ounces of suspected heroin, numerous suspected fentanyl pills and nearly $3,000 in currency, the news release stated.

Machado was arrested on suspicion of a violation of felony probation, as well as drug and weapon-related offenses.

The parents of a severely autistic 21-year-old man who choked and died in January have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against his Bakersfield caregivers.

The suit filed March 16 in Kern County Superior Court accuses Supported and Independent Living Services Bakersfield Inc. and its parent company, as well as Kern Regional Center and Golden Gate Regional Center, of “unreasonable, reckless and oppressive conduct” leading to the death of Ryan Kowal.

A news release Wednesday by the Bakersfield law firm that filed the suit on behalf of Kowal’s parents, Chain | Cohn | Stiles, said the man’s condition required that he be monitored at all times because of the risk he could choke on food.

It said Kowal died Jan. 23 after choking on food he wasn’t supposed to have access to. He suffered a similar problem seven months prior, it said, and had to be revived by emergency personnel.

“A lack of oversight from both regional centers, and SAILS Westbrook’s desire for profit, caused Ryan’s tragic death,” the release stated, referring to the name under which the primary defendant does business in Bakersfield.

The defendants could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.