Two Arrested in Connection to Armed Robbery, Subsequent Police Pursuit in Bakersfield
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a primary suspect in a recent armed robbery in Bakersfield.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, an armed robbery took place at the Shell Gas Station located at South Comanche Road in Bakersfield on April 11. The Sheriff’s Office received a report of the incident and dispatched deputies to the scene. The suspects were identified as Johnell Hames (21) and Jaylen Tibbets (19), who allegedly entered the business and stole an undisclosed amount of currency at gunpoint.
They then fled the area in a black sedan eastbound on Highway 58 before the deputies arrived, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputies later spotted the suspect vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 58 near Cameron Canyon Road. They tried to stop the vehicle, but the suspects failed to stop and led the deputies in a vehicle pursuit. The chase continued into California City, where the vehicle eventually collided into a pole in the north alley of the 8100 block of Heather Avenue.
Tibbets, the driver of the vehicle, was taken into custody without incident, while Hames fled from the vehicle on foot. However, he was later found and arrested without incident at a residence in the 8100 block of Heather Avenue, the Sheriff’s Office said.
During the investigation, deputies were able to recover the firearm used in the robbery, as well as other evidence linking the suspects to the crime.
Both Tibbets and Hames were booked into the Central Receiving Facility for multiple felony charges. It was unclear at press time whether either of the two had retained an attorney.
Despite the arrests, this remains an active and ongoing investigation and the Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate potential leads. The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information regarding the case to call them at 661-861-3110 or Secret Witness at 661-322-4040, with the reference number 2023-00039647.
