East Bakersfield Burglary Suspects are Arrested; One Still at Large
BAKERSFIELD — A 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old juvenile were arrested on Wednesday night for a burglary that put five schools on lockdown earlier in morning in East Bakersfield. Melanie Cazares was booked in to the downtown Bakersfield jail on various charges, while the juvenile was released to a guardian pending a criminal complaint.
Sheriff’s investigators said that incident began when they got a call about a home burglary around 9 a.m. on Shirlee Court, just north of the East Bakersfield High School campus.
The victim of the burglary reported her car alarm went off and that the keys to the vehicle had been stolen along with a firearm. “The suspect then reportedly broke into a second home where he was confronted by the homeowner,” said Sheriff’s Spokesperson Ray Pruitt. “The suspect allegedly pulled out a gun and ran out of the home.”
East High School, Horace Elementary School, Harding Elementary, Compton Junior High and Heritage Academy were all put on lockdown, which was lifted around 10:30 a.m.
Later that day the Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter located a vehicle similar to the one seen during the burglary, which was described by witnesses as gold, lowered Honda with a black roof. “Deputies stopped the vehicle and located property taken during the earlier burglary including the handgun,” Pruitt said. Deputies also learned the vehicle had been reported stolen to the sheriff’s office at 6 a.m. that morning.
Police are still looking for a third suspect who is described as a Hispanic male with numerous tattoos, about 6 feet tall and “transient” in appearance.
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