Bakersfield man convicted of murder and attempted rape of 15-year-old girl

A Kern County jury has found Gerardo Rodriguez guilty of murdering a 15-year-old girl during an attempted rape.

In a news release, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said Rodriguez had been convicted of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of attempted rape.

According to the DA’s Office, Bakersfield Fire Department personnel responded to a call of a potential overdose at the 3000 block of Dore Drive on April 10, 2017.

Upon arrival, the DA’s Office says the personnel found a 15-year-old girl deceased, with physical trauma to her head and neck. The Bakersfield Police Department was called and determined Rodriguez had been alone with the teen in the garage of his home, where he physically and sexually assaulted her, according to the DA’s Office.

“The sexual assault and subsequent murder of this young woman is every parent’s worst nightmare,” District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in a statement. “Sexual abuse against children is a horrific crime and life in prison is an appropriate sentence in this case.”

Rodriguez faces a potential life sentence without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 15.

The Delano Police Department was awarded $50,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors.

The grant will pay for: DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on impaired drivers.

Drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cellphone law.

Bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Community education presentations on traffic safety issues.

Officer training or recertification.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided the California Office of Traffic Safety the funds, which will last until September 2022, according to the Delano police news release.

A 39-year-old Bakersfield man pleaded guilty Friday to burglarizing eight post offices in Kern, Kings and Tulare counties, according to acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert’s office.

Steve Martin stole cash registers, packages containing clothes and other mail in December 2018, according to a news release. The thefts caused thousands of dollars in damages, the attorney’s office added.

Martin will be sentenced on Jan. 14. He faces five years in prison and a 250,000 fine, the attorney’s office said.

This case is a product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

A Palmdale man died Thursday after colliding into another vehicle, according to the Kern County coroner’s office.

William Francis LaValley III, 40, was driving on Highway 14, north of Avenue A, when his vehicle collided into another. He died at the scene in Rosamond, according to the coroner.

A California City pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle Thursday, according to the Kern County coroner’s office.

Eynelys Gonzalez Garcia, 31, was struck by a vehicle in the 21000 block of Shaw Street in California City. She died at the scene, the coroner’s office said.