BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Gang members organized a hit at a party on Lloyd Street last month to kill a man who owed money, court documents allege.
The man — whose name has not been released — was a former member of the East Side Bakers street gang who owed “tax money” for drug sales, a witness told police. The man was previously attacked while incarcerated, the witness said.
The witness told police “It was no secret to (the victim) that when he got out of custody, people would try to kill him.”
Rodrigo Lara, 31, was arrested days after the shooting and has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, gang conspiracy and possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon. He’s being held without bail and is due back in court in November.
Police say in the documents “it is probable that additional evidence will prove” others were involved.
Early on Aug. 25, police went to the 400 block of Lloyd Street — north of Brundage Lane and east of Union Avenue — after a ShotSpotter activation registered eight gunshots. They found a man in a driveway suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.