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Notable cases upset, shocked residents
| Thursday, Dec 28 2006 10:35 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 28 2006 10:39 PM
This past year the city experienced crimes both tragic and bizarre. In some cases reasons have become clear, but the story behind other incidents may never be known.
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Two grieving mothers: Vanessa Martinez, left, hugs Ana Robledo during a memorial for Robledo's daughter at Greenlawn Cemetery. An unidentified cousin is pictured at right. Lisa Rosas, 17, was killed April 7 when a high-speed police chase went wrong. Martinez's 22-month-old daughter, Katrina, was paralyzed in the crash.
Solon Dewitt allegedly killed his mother with a wrench before shooting himself while driving on Highway 99.
Man Le holds a photo of his son Andrew Le and Jeni Klawitter at a candlelight vigil held for the two children killed in an explosion.
Lacey Wagner, fiancee of slaying victim Edward Pedrosa, emerged from court in tears after watching the arraignment of murder suspect Nicholas Pedrosa. She momentarily stopped and attempted to answer reporters questions, but was too disdraught and left the courthouse. Pedrosa was a stripper at a bachelorette party who was fatally stabbed.
Following are some of the notable incidents requiring police response in 2006:
THE SAGA OF RANDALL LEE BLAY
A city parks worker went missing June 23, his city truck found by searchers with a bullet hole in it. The next day the worker, Randall Lee Blay, was found on the bike path and shared a bizarre kidnapping story with detectives.
Weeks went by and the kidnappers were never found. In late August, Blay was charged with misdemeanor counts of filing a false report of a crime and firing a gun into an unoccupied truck.
Blay has said he recognizes his story is outlandish, but it's the truth and he's sticking to it. He said he was making his usual rounds, driving on the bike path just off of Yokuts Park, when he saw two men to the side of the road sitting in a vehicle.
He drove past the men, heard a loud noise, which he later realized was a gunshot, and the truck's window shattered, Blay said. He sped up but the city truck soon died and after a short chase he was taken captive by the men.
The men drove Blay to a wooded area and placed him on the ground, threatening and striking him, according to Blay's account. His captors drank heavily and passed out, and Blay, dehydrated and dazed, eventually made his way to a call box near the Golden State Avenue overpass.
Blay called police, who picked him up at about 10:30 a.m. on June 24, almost 24 hours from the time he was reportedly shot at.
A Bakersfield Police Department news release sent out in August said Blay's inconsistent statements and witness accounts unraveled his story and led to his arrest.
Blay's trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 13, according to the Kern County Superior Court Web site.
STRIPPER STABBING
A June bachelorette party turned deadly when a fight broke out after a male stripper's performance.
The stripper, Edward Pedrosa, 24, was stabbed at the party and pronounced dead at Kern Medical Center. Nicholas Nobella, an acquaintance of the bride and groom, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder, according to the Kern County Superior Court Web site.
Witnesses have given conflicting reports as to exactly what happened, but it appears Pedrosa and his father, Martin Pedrosa, who acted as his son's security guard, were told to leave the bachelorette party by members of the groom's party. As the men were leaving a fight ensued, and both Pedrosas were stabbed.
When deputies arrived, Nobella told them he had "neutralized the enemy" and pointed to Edward Pedrosa's body, according to Kern County Sheriff's Department reports. Nobella's attorney, H.A. Sala, has said Nobella acted in self-defense.
Pedrosa had proposed to his girlfriend before he went to work the night he was stabbed.
A readiness hearing for Nobella is scheduled for Jan. 5.
FATAL EXPLOSION
Two children were killed when a military round a group of children were playing with exploded on Aug. 29
Andrew Cole Le and Jeni Marie Klawitter, both 7, died from shrapnel wounds they suffered when the round detonated. Five other children suffered minor to moderate injuries in the blast in the 1900 block of Maple Avenue.
After the explosion, there was confusion in the neighborhood as people didn't know what had just happened. It was only several days later that police identified the explosive as a 40 mm military round.
The owner of the round, Frank Tony Sendejo, said he kept the explosive as a conversation piece and did not think it was dangerous. He said he later learned from police that the round's tip contained gunpowder.
A candlelight vigil was held for Le and Klawitter, and their funeral services were packed with schoolmates, family and friends.
Sendejo has pleaded no contest to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He faces up to a year in jail at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 8.
TEEN KILLS MOTHER, SELF
A teen who was reportedly suffering from a severe case of valley fever is suspected of killing his mother and then committing suicide on Aug. 22, an incident that shocked friends and neighbors.
Solon Jesse DeWitt, 18, is believed to have bludgeoned his mother to death with a large valve wrench and then shot himself while driving on Highway 99 at Norris Road. The teen was found in a car that had gone off an overpass onto train tracks below.
In a 911 call made from the DeWitts' residence that night, a male voice, apparently Solon DeWitt, told the dispatcher that he had just killed his mother, he was possessed by the devil and was going to kill himself. The line went dead soon after, and responding officers found the body of Solon DeWitt's mother, Donna DeWitt, inside the house in the 8200 block of Sargent Way.
A little more than 30 minutes after the 911 call, Bakersfield police were contacted by the California Highway Patrol and told of a fatal accident at Highway 99 and Norris Road. DeWitt's body was pulled from the totaled vehicle.
Solon DeWitt attended Stockdale High School as a junior in November 2004, but was expelled.
GIRL KILLED IN POLICE PURSUIT
A 17-year-old girl died when her car was hit head-on by a truck police were chasing through an east Bakersfield neighborhood on April 7.
The girl, Lisa Rosas, of Bakersfield, died after her Geo Prizm was hit by a stolen black Chevrolet Suburban driven by Thomas Lee Holt Jr. Rosas' 2-year-old niece, Katrina Martinez, was paralyzed in the accident. The accident happened at the corner of Fairfax Road and Lexington Avenue.
The crash raised a public outcry into police chase procedures.
Holt faces charges including second-degree murder. A readiness hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, according to the Kern County Superior Court Web site.
After Holt hit Rosas, Bakersfield police Officer Christopher Ward hit Rosas' car. Ward's speed at the time of his collision was about 10 mph, according to the department's report.
An investigation by the Police Department found that the chase was within departmental policy up to the point when Ward hit Rosas' car. He approached the crash area too quickly, the report said.
CHILD MOLESTATION CASE INVOLVED FATHER, SON
A Bakersfield child molestation case had pathos on top of pathos.
It came to light in April when one girl grew so afraid she threatened to commit suicide.
Then Justin Erbacher, 22, was arrested on suspicion of molesting five girls during a nearly five-year period, Bakersfield police reported.
The alleged victims were 13, 11, 10, 9 and 5, police said.
Within a few days of Erbacher's arrest, a 13-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of more than a dozen felony sexual assault charges in connection with the same case. She was not identified because of her age.
And a few days after that, Stephan Anthony Erbacher, 44, the father of Justin Erbacher, shot himself to death before he was to be arrested in the same case.
The latest development came in November when it was reported by KGET-TV that a witness may not be able to testify in the case because she might die of cystic fibrosis before the scheduled January trial.
Deputy District Attorney John Somers said even if the girl is never able to testify, the case will proceed with other witnesses, but some charges may have to be dropped.
RECEPTIONIST HELD HOSTAGE
A receptionist at a Bear Valley real estate office was held at knife-point for several hours on Dec. 13 before the suspect released her and surrendered.
The suspect, Kathy Imberi, 44, was arrested on suspicion of felony false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest with injury to an officer. Imberi ran from an officer on patrol and entered Bear Valley Springs Realty, where she took receptionist Brittany Osmond hostage, according to police.
The Kern County Sheriff's SWAT team was called to the scene, and after a four-hour standoff Imberi surrendered. Neither she nor Osmond suffered injuries.
The two women did not know each other, according to police. Imberi had a warrant out for her arrest for similar charges in another county.