Bomb threat on BC campus found unsubstantiated

A bomb threat targeted at Bakersfield College’s Panorama campus was found to be unsubstantiated Monday.

The Bakersfield Police Department received a notice of a possible bomb threat at 1:23 p.m. Monday. Officials at BC’s main campus evacuated students and staff.

The threat was determined to be unsubstantiated at 2:55 p.m. after police officers and BC’s College Safety personnel searched the entire campus, according to a statement from BC. In-person classes were canceled Monday and will resume today.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a report of a pill found in a burrito purchased at Del Taco on Merle Haggard Drive.

The customer reported discovering the pill Saturday after the food had been brought home for consumption, according to a KCSO news release Monday. The individual reported finding the pill after biting into the burrito, according to KCSO.

Medical aid responded, and the person was medically cleared at the residence.

No information was available on what type of pill it was or how it may have gotten into the food. Deputies are investigating, and the pill was submitted to the Kern County crime lab for testing.

The Kern County coroner’s office identified a woman who died in a car that overturned during an accident.

Modesto resident Khamlounh Thammaaly, 63, died 9:47 p.m. Sunday on northbound Interstate 5 at Grapevine Road in Arvin. Thammaaly was a passenger in a car that left the roadway and overturned, according to the coroner.

She died at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating a pedestrian death early Saturday along Taft Highway in which a driver struck a victim and fled the scene.

Bakersfield CHP officers responded to the scene east of Par Street at 3:38 a.m. A preliminary investigation determined a man was walking west on Taft Highway and was “partially within the westbound lane,” a CHP news release said.

The unidentified driver of a gray Honda Accord traveling west on Taft Highway hit the pedestrian, who was “walking partially within the roadway directly in the path of the Honda,” and the driver was unable to take “evasive action,” according to the release.

The Honda’s driver kept driving and the vehicle was later found abandoned near the crash, CHP said in a news release.

The pedestrian died at the scene, and his identification is withheld pending identification by the coroner, the release stated.

It was unknown whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash. This incident is under investigation and anyone with information can call the CHP Bakersfield office at 661-396-6600.

Kern Valley State Prison officials are investigating the homicide of an inmate, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Inmates Adrian Gurrola, 31, and Esteban Ceja, 26, are accused of attacking Hector Jimenez at 7:18 p.m. Friday in a dayroom, the CDCR wrote in a news release. Jimenez was declared deceased at 7:42 p.m., according to the Kern County coroner’s office.

Jimenez, 35, was sent to CDCR from San Diego County in March 2015 to serve a 26-year sentence after being found guilty of voluntary manslaughter with the use of a firearm in commission of a street gang.

Ceja was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder with intentional use of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death and attempted murder. While he was incarcerated, Ceja was additionally sentenced to three years for assault with force producing great bodily injury and inflicting great bodily injury, the CDCR said in a news release.

Gurrola was sentenced to life with parole for first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, cruelty to animals, assault with a deadly weapon in commission of a street gang and inflicting great bodily injury. While Gurrola was serving time, he was additionally sentenced to three years for carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, the CDCR wrote in the release.

The Kern County coroner’s office is asking for help to find a missing 15-year-old boy.

Keith Conner has been missing since June 20. He is about 6 foot, 1 inch tall and weighs 170 pounds. He is white with brown hair and brown eyes, and wears glasses. Conner also has braces, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office noted in a news release.

Conner was last seen wearing dark blue jeans.

Anyone with information about this case can contact KCSO at 661-8613110 or Secret Witness at 661-322-4040.

A Bakersfield man who died after driving off the Westside Parkway and into the Friant-Kern Canal has been identified by the Kern County coroner’s office.

Scott James Ray, 64, was found Thursday near the 7800 block of Westside Parkway. The date and time of the incident was unknown, the coroner noted in a news release.

The Kern County coroner’s office has identified a motorcyclist who died after a crash on Highway 178.

Bakersfield resident Mario Lewis Carrete, 64, died at 6:27 p.m. Thursday. He died near the 21st mile marker, according to the coroner.