Originally published as a Bakersfield Police Department Facebook post –
“On Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at approximately 10:28 PM, officers were dispatched to the 4400 block of California Avenue for reports of a male subject entering an apartment through an unlocked second-floor balcony door. The suspect fled the area on foot prior to officers’ arrival.
Shortly after, at about 10:41 PM, an alarm activation was received from Roof Line Supply & Delivery, located at 4540 Easton Drive. A witness observed a suspect inside one of the business’s trucks in the business’s secured parking lot.
Responding officers searched the parking lot and heard noises indicating the suspect was on the roof of the business. Officers were assisted in a search by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office helicopter (Air 1). Bakersfield Police Officers were able to access the roof, but were unable to locate the suspect.
A K-9 team conducted a search of a secluded upstairs storage area inside the business, at which time the canine signaled to an air duct. Officers checked inside the air duct and confirmed the suspect was trapped. The Bakersfield Fire Department responded and was able to rescue the suspect about an hour later.
The suspect was identified as Charles Harger (25) of Bakersfield. He was also identified as the suspect in the first burglary on California Avenue. Harger was medically cleared, and booked into the Kern County Jail for charges related to burglary.
Based on the rescue efforts needed to remove Harger from the ducting, it is highly unlikely he would have survived if he had not been located by the canine.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111.
Fleeing burglary suspect gets trapped in air duct was last modified: January 5th, 2023 by
