BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — An argument inside a marijuana dispensary escalated to a shooting and two men dead. Five people, including two kids, were arrested. One of the alleged suspects was arrested in Las Vegas.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said on May 27, 2025, at around 9:40 p.m., deputies assigned to Metropolitan Patrol were called to the 1600 block of Flower Street for a report of a shooting.
A person who called dispatch said two people were shot inside the business. Deputies arrived and entered the marijuana dispensary, where they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. The victims, later identified as 37-year-old Anthony Victor Ochoa and 26-year-old Damien Joseph Bullard, were pronounced dead at the scene.
KCSO Detectives were called to the scene to assume the investigation.
RELATED: 2 men dead in east Bakersfield shooting, detectives investigating: KCSO
According to KCSO, during the investigation, detectives learned that four people went inside the marijuana dispensary, followed by Ochoa and Bullard. A verbal argument happened inside the dispensary, followed by several gunshots.
The four people left the dispensary and the area in a gold four-door sedan, which was being driven by a driver, identified as a female.
RELATED: Coroner identifies two men killed in shooting on Flower Street
The KCSO Homicide Unit worked with members from the KCSO Gang Suppression Unit, Bakersfield Police Department Gang Unit, Kern County Probation, and CDCR Parole to identify the suspects involved in this incident.
KCSO said the alleged suspects were identified as 18-year-old Terrance Thompson, 20-year-old Darwin Young, 20-year-old Nancy Ruiz and two boys.
Terrance, Thompson, and the two boys are all documented East Side Crip criminal street gang members, according to KCSO.
Young and the two kids were all found and arrested in Kern County by members of the Sheriff’s Office and are all charged with two counts of murder, one count of second-degree robbery, and one count of participating in a criminal street gang.
Ruiz was arrested in Kern County and charged with one count of second-degree robbery.
With help from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Thompson was found and arrested at a relative’s residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thompson was booked into a jail in Las Vegas and is currently awaiting extradition to Kern County.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call the Kern County Sheriff’s Office at (661) 861-3110 or the Secret Witness Line (661) 322-4040.
An argument inside a marijuana dispensary escalated to a shooting and two men dead. Five people, including two kids, were arrested. One of the alleged suspects Read More
