Only in Kern County!

Where else but Bakersfield, California, could the District Attorney disagree with the police investigation of a major crime (first degree murder)and refuse to file an information? (a formal charging document with the court)

Lisa Green, Kern County District Attorney, after viewing evidence from a surveillance camera retrieved from the Central Cali Market on East California Ave., in conjunction with with the opinions of others on her staff, declined to file charges against a Cambodian store owner who shot two African American “patrons” to death after trouble erupted in the market over the price of a soda!

The argument began over the price of a soda-with the assailants trying to negotiate a cheaper price than the normal retail price, and quickly escalated into a physical attack first against the store owner’s wife, continuing with the adult son, and ultimately with the store owner himself. After suffering a horrific beating at the hands of one of the assailants, the store owner was finally able to get his gun and shot one in the chest, killing him. The other assailant, who had left the store but quickly came back, also tried to attack the store owner, but also met with the same fate as his friend, a bullet in the head, which killed him. After the shootings, the store owner called 911 and reported the incident.

I’m not against the store owner, because he was plainly protecting his person, and his family, as DA Lisa Green so aptly points out (defining self defense in legal terms). But what is strange about this whole thing is that the store owner tried to hide the surveillance camera in the ceiling after the incident, and most importantly of course, the contrasting opinion of the police, who viewed the same surveillance footage.

The two victims were convicted felons, both for gun offenses. The store where all this happened is located in one of the city’s “roughest” neighborhoods, which is not new for the store owner, as he has owned markets in other cities in the same type of neighborhoods, and, believe it or not, has shot other “patrons” of his former stores, under similar circumstances, but was never charged with doing it unlawfully.

We can all chew on this and debate, with what we’ve been told, whether or not the store owner was right or wrong in his actions...something a jury of his peers will never have the opportunity to do. 

Perhaps the most ironic part of this story is that it all started over an argument of how much to pay for a soda. The price of the drink was $1.00; the victim wanted to only pay 55 cents. He had $16.00 in his pocket, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to pay the proper price. Hope that bickering over price was ultimately worth it...