PC § 187: Bakersfield PD's Homicide Unit, SB 1437 Felony Murder Reform, Fentanyl Homicide, and Why the First 48 Hours Define Every Defense at 1415 Truxtun Avenue
Murder is the most serious charge in Kern County Superior Court and the charge where the decisions made in the first 48 hours are most consequential. Bakersfield PD's Homicide Unit begins building the case the moment a body is discovered. Evidence is collected, witnesses are canvassed, surveillance footage from Bakersfield's growing camera network is reviewed, and the victim's final movements are reconstructed. By the time an arrest is made, the investigative record is typically substantially developed.
Every statement made without counsel, every consent to search granted, and every right waived during this window can alter the trajectory of the defense.
Bakersfield's homicide landscape reflects its demographics and geography. East Bakersfield and Oildale neighborhoods generate the majority of the City's gang-related homicides, with various gang factions triggering PC § 186.22 gang special circumstance allegations that can convert a murder charge into life without parole. Kern County's significant methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution problems generate an increasing number of implied malice second degree murder prosecutions.
Domestic violence homicides, road rage incidents on Bakersfield's freeway corridors, and confrontations in rural Kern County complete the picture of a county with a homicide prosecution environment that demands the most experienced defense available.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS FOR YOURSELF OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW: Call The Bulldog Law immediately at (888) 928-1609. In murder cases in Bakersfield, every hour matters.
PC § 187: Degrees of Murder and What Each Carries in Kern County
First Degree Murder 25 Years to Life
First degree murder requires willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation. The sentence is 25 years to life. Premeditation — distinguishing first from second degree is one of the most vigorously contested issues in Bakersfield homicide trials at 1415 Truxtun Avenue.
Second Degree Murder 15 Years to Life
Second degree covers intentional killings without premeditation, or killings from conscious disregard for human life. The base sentence is 15 years to life. In Kern County, many gang-related and street violence homicides are charged as second degree. Gang enhancements and firearm enhancements under PC § 12022.53 significantly increase minimum terms.
Special Circumstances Life Without Parole
When the Kern County DA alleges special circumstances under PC § 190.2 including gang murder under PC § 190.2(a)(22), murder during robbery or kidnapping, or murder for financial gain the penalty is life without the possibility of parole. Gang murder special circumstance is frequently alleged in East Bakersfield and Oildale homicide prosecutions.
Felony Murder After SB 1437
SB 1437 (2019) narrowed the felony murder rule significantly. A person can only be convicted of felony murder if they were the actual killer, acted with intent to kill while aiding the killer, or were a major participant who acted with reckless indifference to human life. SB 1437 applies retroactively prior Kern County felony murder convictions under the old rule are eligible for PC § 1172.6 resentencing petitions at 1415 Truxtun Avenue.
SB 1437 RETROACTIVE RELIEF: If someone was convicted of felony murder in Kern County as an aider or abettor who did not kill and did not act with intent to kill, a PC § 1172.6 resentencing petition may be available. The Bulldog Law evaluates SB 1437 eligibility and handles resentencing proceedings in Kern County Superior Court.
Voluntary Manslaughter 3, 6, or 11 Years
A killing in the heat of passion upon sudden provocation carries 3, 6, or 11 years. Reducing from murder to manslaughter is one of the most significant defense victories achievable in Kern County Superior Court the difference between a life sentence and a finite term with the possibility of release.
How Bakersfield PD's Homicide Unit Investigates Murder in Kern County
Bakersfield PD Homicide Unit
Bakersfield PD's Homicide Unit responds to homicides throughout the City. The Kern County Sheriff's Homicide Unit covers unincorporated areas. These specialized investigators begin building the case within hours of a body being discovered. We conduct a parallel defense investigation from the earliest possible stage, preserving evidence the prosecution will not collect and identifying witnesses before Homicide investigators reach them.
Kern County Coroner's Office
The Kern County Coroner's Office determines cause and manner of death in all Kern County homicide cases. Coroner autopsy findings are central to every murder prosecution at 1415 Truxtun Avenue. We retain independent forensic pathologists to review autopsy findings and present alternative cause-of-death or manner-of-death analyses that may support a different charge characterization or a self-defense theory.
Gang Task Force East Bakersfield and Oildale
Bakersfield PD's Gang Suppression Unit and the Kern County Sheriff's gang enforcement teams are routinely involved in homicide investigations in East Bakersfield and Oildale neighborhoods. When gang involvement is alleged, the DA adds PC § 186.22 enhancements and often the gang murder special circumstance. We challenge every gang allegation through evidence that the specific conduct was not gang-motivated.
Fentanyl Homicide Prosecution in Kern County
Kern County's significant fentanyl distribution problem has generated an increasing category of homicide prosecution: cases where the Kern County DA charges murder or manslaughter arising from fentanyl distribution that caused a user's death. We challenge both the causal connection between the specific distribution and the specific death and the implied malice element required for second degree murder.
Surveillance and Digital Evidence
Bakersfield PD's growing surveillance camera network supplemented by private business cameras, residential security systems, and CHP cameras on Highway 99 and other major corridors provides investigators with increasingly detailed evidence of movement throughout the City. We obtain and analyze the complete surveillance record, challenging identifications from cameras with limited resolution or poor lighting.
Where Murder Cases Are Prosecuted in Bakersfield
Kern County Superior Court
1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Murder cases are assigned to the Kern County DA's Violent Crimes Division. The Bulldog Law appears regularly before the prosecutors and judges who handle homicide cases in Kern County Superior Court.
Murder Defense Strategies in Bakersfield
Self-Defense and Defense of Others
California law provides a complete defense to murder when the defendant reasonably believed they or another person faced imminent danger of death or great bodily injury and used no more force than reasonably necessary. We reconstruct the full context of events the victim's prior threats, their aggression, and the objective circumstances making the defendant's belief in imminent danger reasonable.
Reducing First to Second Degree
Premeditation and deliberation distinguish first from second degree. We challenge premeditation through evidence of the impulsive, unplanned nature of the killing and the absence of prior planning. The sentencing difference can be a decade of actual custody at 1415 Truxtun Avenue.
Heat of Passion Reducing to Voluntary Manslaughter
If the killing occurred in the heat of passion upon sudden provocation, malice is negated and the charge becomes voluntary manslaughter. We build heat of passion defenses through evidence of the victim's provocation and the absence of any cooling period. The difference between murder and manslaughter in Kern County can be 20 or more years of actual custody.
SB 1437 Resentencing
If our client was convicted under the old felony murder rule as an aider or abettor who was not the actual killer and did not act with intent to kill, a PC § 1172.6 petition may be available. The Bulldog Law evaluates SB 1437 eligibility and handles resentencing in Kern County Superior Court.
Challenging Gang Special Circumstance
The gang murder special circumstance requires proof that the murder was intentional and carried out to further criminal street gang activities. We challenge every element the intentionality requirement and the gang benefit motivation through evidence of the personal, non-gang-related nature of the conflict.
Arrested for Murder in Bakersfield? The First 48 Hours Are Critical
- Invoke your right to remain silent immediately and absolutely. Do not make any statement to Bakersfield PD Homicide detectives not a denial, not an explanation, nothing.
- Invoke your right to an attorney clearly: ‘I want a lawyer. I will not answer any questions without my attorney.'
- Do not consent to any search of your person, vehicle, or home. Require a warrant for every search.
- Booking for murder charges in Kern County occurs at the Kern County Jail, 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301. Do not discuss the case with other detainees.
- Contact family to reach The Bulldog Law immediately at (888) 928-1609. Every hour matters.
Murder Defense Across Kern County
Taft: West County homicide cases investigated by the Kern County Sheriff can be handled through our Taft office page.
Tehachapi: Mountain area clients in Tehachapi can reach The Bulldog Law through our Tehachapi office page.
Delano: Northern Kern County clients in Delano can reach us through our Delano office page.
We also serve clients in Arvin, California City, Kern County, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Wasco, and all Kern County communities.
To speak with a Bakersfield murder defense attorney, visit our Bakersfield criminal law office or call (888) 928-1609.
Frequently Asked Questions: Murder Charges in Bakersfield
What is the difference between first and second degree murder in Kern County?
First degree murder requires willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation a considered killing carrying 25 years to life. Second degree covers intentional killings without premeditation or killings from conscious disregard for human life, carrying 15 years to life. The distinction is vigorously litigated in Bakersfield homicide trials. Reducing from first to second degree can mean a decade's difference in the minimum term before parole eligibility.
What did SB 1437 change about felony murder in Kern County?
SB 1437 narrowed the felony murder rule significantly. A person can be convicted of felony murder in Kern County only if they were the actual killer, acted with intent to kill while aiding the killer, or were a major participant who acted with reckless indifference to human life. SB 1437 applies retroactively prior Kern County felony murder convictions under the old rule are eligible for PC § 1172.6 resentencing petitions at 1415 Truxtun Avenue.
Can fentanyl distribution result in a murder charge in Bakersfield?
Yes. Kern County's significant fentanyl problem has produced implied malice second degree murder prosecutions where a distributor's supply is alleged to have caused a user's death. We challenge the causal connection between the specific distribution and the specific death and contest the implied malice element through evidence about the defendant's actual knowledge and intent at the time of distribution.
How does the gang murder special circumstance affect sentencing in Kern County?
The gang murder special circumstance under PC § 190.2(a)(22) requiring that the murder was intentional and carried out to further criminal street gang activities converts a first degree murder charge from 25-to-life into life without the possibility of parole. We challenge gang special circumstance allegations by contesting both the intentionality requirement and the gang benefit motivation element through evidence of the personal, non-gang nature of the conflict.
For coverage of self-defense law, SB 1437 resentencing, gang special circumstance challenges, and fentanyl homicide prosecution in Kern County, visit The Bulldog Law criminal defense blog.