Man convicted of second-degree murder
A Kern County jury convicted a man Monday of second-degree murder with the personal use of a deadly weapon, District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced Tuesday.
James Jordan was accused of using a pocket knife to stab to death a person named Virdy Jones on May 15, 2019 outside the Johnny Quick Stop market at Fourth Street and Union Avenue in Bakersfield.
A news release from the DA’s office said investigators determined Jordan and Jones were in a romantic relationship with the same woman, and that, additionally, Jordan was profiting from the woman’s work as a prostitute.
Jordan faces up to 36 years to life in prison at his sentencing set for Jan. 3 in Kern County Superior Court.
A 52-year-old Bakersfield man was killed Monday evening after
the motorcycle he was driving rear-ended a forklift on Ashe Road south of Megaris Avenue.
A news release Tuesday from the California Highway Patrol said the unidentified man was riding a 1993 Honda south on Ashe at about 5:09 p.m. when, “for unknown reasons,” he ran into the rear of a Yale forklift being driven in the same direction by Peter Glenn Moore, age 59. It said the motorcyclist was ejected from his vehicle and died at the scene. Moore was not injured.
It was unknown if alcohol or drug use were factors in the crash, the release said. Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the CHP Bakersfield Area Office at 661-396-6600.
A Kernville man was killed Monday while walking on High
way 155 east of Keyesville Road, the California Highway Patrol reported Tuesday.
The unidentified 29-year-old was walking west along the 155 when he walked into the path of a 2009 Ford F-150 being driven west at about 50 to 55 mph by Thomas Mckinney, an 87-year-old Wofford Heights resident, according to a news release Tuesday from the California Highway Patrol.
The pedestrian was thrown onto a dirt embankment and died at the scene, while Mckinney stayed on the scene and cooperated with CHP personnel, the release said.
It was unclear whether alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash, the CHP reported.
The California Board of Parole Hearings denied early release
Friday to a man who was sentenced to 184 years in prison after being found guilty in 1998 of attempted murder and other crimes.
Despite being eligible for the state’s Elderly Parole Program, Giovani Herrera was found to pose a current and unreasonable risk to public safety, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Tuesday. It issued a five-year denial, meaning his case will go before the board again in 2028.
The release said Herrera was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, assault with a firearm, cruelty to animals, evading a peace officer while driving recklessly and escape from custody with force, along with firearms enhancements and two prior strikes.