BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Authorities at first believed robbery was the sole motive behind the shooting death of a man found in a crashed vehicle in Lamont.
The man sold drugs, and a large amount of marijuana was found inside the vehicle, according to sheriff’s reports.
But while robbery allegedly played a part, one of the suspects told investigators retaliation was also behind the July shooting, according to the recently released reports.
Romieo Narvaez said the victim was from the “opposition” and had previously robbed co-defendant Gabriel Prieto’s “people”, the reports say.
He told investigators “they” — the word is in quotation marks in the reports and it’s unclear if Narvaez meant Prieto’s “people”, or he and Prieto — were going to “get a lick back”, meaning a robbery in retaliation for the one Narvaez said the victim had previously executed.
Narvaez, 24, and Prieto, 23, have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and robbery. They’re being held without bail and are due back in court Thursday.