BAKERSFIELD — A 20-year-old murder suspect was finally arrested last Friday after returning to the area where he was being sought for shooting and killing a Bakersfield man back in March of this year.
“The suspect, Anthony Rivera was captured by deputies from the Kern County Sherriff’s Department on June 12, in the 700 block of Goodman Street in east Bakersfield,” said public information officer Ray Pruitt. “He was then booked into the Kern County Jail, where he is being held without bail on a first-degree murder charge.”
Rivera is suspected as being the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of Jose Banales, who was killed at his residence in the 400 block of Crawford Street in east Bakersfield on Friday, March 13.
It was at about 8:35 p.m. that night that deputies responded to the residence after receiving a 9-1-1 call about an unresponsive adult male. When they arrived they found CPR was in progress by medical aid, which after a short time later pronounced Banales dead at the scene.
“During their investigation, detectives determined the manner of death was suspicious,” Pruitt said, “and began an investigation, during which they were able to develop probable cause to arrest Rivera, who had fled the county.”
Just recently, detectives handling the case developed information that Rivera had returned to the Bakersfield area, where he was arrested without further incident.
