Threat directed at Independence High found not credible
A potential threat directed at Independence High School caused the campus to lock down its doors Thursday morning as police investigated and found the warnings to be unfounded.
This instance wasn’t a lockdown in which teachers lock their doors and students huddle inside a classroom — rather, the campus didn’t allow anyone to enter its grounds, which is called securing the perimeter or a lockout, according to the Kern High School District.
KHSD police officers, Bakersfield police and the administrators investigated the threat and found it to be unfounded, according to a letter from the principal sent to parents.
The type of threat was not specified in the letter, nor when the school was put on lockout.
The Kern County Fire Department will conduct a swift water rescue training from
10 a.m. to noon today to prepare for river rescues.
“Members of the community should not be alarmed if they witness these rescues taking place, which are simulated,” the KCFD wrote in a news release.
The training often happens in the Kern River near Kernville, but will take place in Yokuts Park, the KCFD noted.
A Kern County Fire Department helicopter may also participate in this training, depending on its availability, the news release added. A helicopter may fly in low altitudes near Yokuts Park and will conduct “dynamic hoist rescues” of firefighters floating down the river, KCFD reported.
A series of vandalism and arson incidents in Wasco, including its schools, costing
more than $100,000 in repairs led to Kern County Sheriff’s deputies arresting a man accused in these incidents.
Between May 19 and Tuesday, James A. Forrest Elementary and Thomas Jefferson Middle School suffered vandalism, according to the KCSO. Wasco Union High School and a building at the former Valley Rose Golf Clubhouse also were set on fire, according to KCSO and the Kern County Fire Department.
Forty-two firefighters went just before 6 p.m. Tuesday to Highway 46 and Leonard Avenue and encountered a second-alarm structure fire at a 10,000-square foot building at the former golf course. It was a vacant building, KCFD reported.
Luis Villareal, 25, was arrested by sheriff’s deputies based out of the Wasco substation.
A man who killed one man and injured a woman near Stramler Park was sentenced
Thursday to four consecutive life terms in prison, according to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
David Lopez Santiago fired multiple times at Gregory Aguilar and a woman while both were walking near K and 38th streets in December 2020. The shooting, which happened near the Kern County Museum, led to Aguilar dying from multiple gunshot wounds and the woman getting hit by a bullet, according to The Californian’s previous reporting.
The woman was taken to Kern Medical after she was injured and survived. Lopez Santiago was found guilty in February.
Another man, Alfredo Naranjo, was charged as the alleged getaway driver in this incident, according to previous reporting. Jurors couldn’t decide if Naranjo should be found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a mistrial was declared in February.
A readiness hearing for Naranjo’s case is set for June 2.