BPD: 6th-grade teacher accused of having child porn

A local sixth-grade teacher was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of having child pornography and distributing the illegal material, according to the Bakersfield Police Department.

Police officers went to the 5600 block of Coburn Ridge Court at 6 a.m. along with investigators with Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service. There, they arrested Matthew Ambrose,

59, who works at Bessie Owens Elementary School, a news release stated.

The BPD noted the illegal items don’t depict local children, but the investigation is ongoing.

The Bakersfield City School District told The Californian in a statement it was informed Tuesday of the BPD’s investigation and arrest of Ambrose. He will not be returning to the school site, added the statement, which was provided via email by Tabatha Mills, spokeswoman for BCSD.

BCSD will cooperate fully with the BPD in this investigation, which includes letting local law enforcement search his classroom, the statement said.

“BCSD is committed to maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for all students, and we appreciate the work of the Bakersfield Police Department and all involved law enforcement agencies,” the statement said.

Anyone with more information about this incident is asked to call the BPD at 661-327-7111.

A man who stabbed a woman throughout her upper body was

sentenced to a life term Monday, but still faces additional years in prison for a pending case in which he was convicted of assaulting Kern County Sheriff’s deputies, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Joshua Molina was sentenced to 25 years to life, plus 14 years after a Kern County jury convicted him of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in relation to the stabbing case.

A woman and her friend agreed to give Molina a ride home after a get-together in February 2020. Molina sat behind them and began stabbing the victim over her face, neck and her head with a knife, the DA’s office wrote. The victim grabbed the knife, but Molina attacked her with his fists, the office wrote.

A person heard the attack and pointed a firearm at Molina, which caused him to stop and leave the area, the news release said.

Molina was also convicted of 13 felonies in a separate, unrelated case in which he assaulted sheriff’s deputies while at the Kern County jail. Five deputies were involved, with one getting tasered by Molina once the defendant grabbed the weapon and used it against him, the DA’s office wrote.

A sentencing hearing in this case is set for June 1.

Twenty-seven Kern County firefighters battled flames burning

two homes Tuesday and extinguished the fire as it threatened other properties in east Bakersfield.

Firefighters who went to the 1900 block of Oregon Street found the two-story, multiunit dwelling engulfed in flames and heavy smoke, a news release said.

The fire had already burned another house on the same property and threatened to destroy two more houses on adjacent properties, the KCFD wrote.

Work began to stop the flames, and to search for any victims. After 30 minutes, firefighters extinguished the flames, according to the KCFD.

No one was injured, the news release said. The KCFD estimated $140,000 was lost from the home and $210,000 was saved.

Bakersfield firefighters, California Highway Patrol and Pacific Gas and Electric also went to the scene.