BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man found guilty of murder in a deadly shooting last year near 34th and Q streets will spend the rest of his life behind bars under a sentence handed down Tuesday.
Ira Kindle was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, plus five years, in the slaying of Christopher Pudwill, 37.
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Prosecutors say Kindle got a gun from co-defendant Keith Hamilton then fired eight shots at Pudwill early on March 18, 2023.
Kindle, 46, was convicted of first-degree murder, and Hamilton of second-degree murder and accessory after the fact. Hamilton, 36, is scheduled for sentencing next week.
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Kindle and Hamilton were drinking outside the Family Food Market on 34th Street when Kindle saw Pudwill across the street. Hamilton gave him a gun, then Kindle fired eight rounds at Pudwill, according to prosecutors.
Kindle at first denied involvement. When confronted with surveillance footage of the shooting, however, he admitted firing four to six shots at Pudwill from 40 to 50 feet away. A GPS ankle monitor also placed him at the scene, according to court documents.