Above (L to R): Nicholas Mason, Robert Lovest, Kristin Peterson | Kern County Sheriff’s Office
A recent traffic stop in Kern County ultimately led to the arrests of three people on a variety of charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
It began just after 12:30 AM on Friday, December 10 in Bakersfield, when a deputy pulled over a GMC pickup truck along 17th Avenue for mechanical violations. The driver, ultimately identified as 35-year-old Nicholas Mason, allegedly provided a false name — that of his ex-girlfriend’s brother — before deputies eventually learned his real one and discovered he had four active warrants out of Kern County for drug sales and violation of PRCS, among other charges.
One of Mason’s two passengers, 41-year-old Robert Lovest, also reportedly gave a false name at first. The other passenger, 34-year-old Kristin Peterson, was found to be on active probation.
Upon searching the vehicle, deputies found two baggies of meth — one weighing 5.8 grams and the other 0.8 grams — along with paraphernalia and three bank cards that did not belong to any of the three. Investigators later got in contact with the owner of the cards, who said his car had been broken into the week prior and the cards had been stolen, the Sheriff’s Office said.
All three individuals were ultimately arrested and booked at the Kern County Jail.
