2 Bakersfield suspects caught in Kings County, deputies say
KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Two Bakersfield suspects in a robbery and assault with deadly weapon investigation have been turned over to the Bakersfield Police Department after a high-speed chase in Kings County over the weekend, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office said.
A deputy says he was on patrol on Saturday around 6:24 p.m. when he received a notification from the Bakersfield Police Department reporting they were tracking a black Mercedes-Benz that had been involved in a robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
With this information, the deputy said he was able to spot the Mercedes as it entered the Walmart parking lot in Hanford. He activated his lights and attempted to pull the Mercedes over.
Sheriff’s officials say the driver of the Mercedes, identified as Kiera Lee, made a U-turn coming dangerously close to striking the patrol car. Kiera accelerated, blew past a stop sign, and turned south onto 12th Avenue. Kiera took the westbound Highway 198 on-ramp and accelerated to 120 miles per hour before exiting Highway 198 at 13th Avenue.
According to deputies, Kiera traversed through the roundabout where she nearly lost control of the Mercedes. Kiera continued traveling west on Hanford-Armona Road. At one point while driving at a high rate of speed, she drove in the oncoming lane of traffic.
The deputy says he briefly lost sight of the Mercedes and suddenly saw a large cloud of dust billowing into the air in the 14500 block of Hanford-Armona Road. Kiera had driven through a six-foot-tall picket fence and into the front yard of a residence. The deputy pulled up behind the Mercedes and saw that both front doors were open with no one inside.
With the assistance of numerous other deputies, they say a perimeter was established, and the Kings County Air Unit (Air1) responded to the scene. Sheriff’s officials say Air1 located two subjects (Kiera Lee and Kemora Lee) hiding in a nearby brush. A K-9 unit arrived on the scene and several announcements were made over the PA system. Upon hearing a K-9 was at the scene, both subjects gave up and they were taken into custody.
Sheriff’s officials say a cell phone belonging to the victim from Bakersfield was located wedged in the windshield wiper well between the windshield and hood of the Mercedes. The phone had been used to track the movement of the Mercedes as it came to Kings County. The phone was turned over to Bakersfield PD.
The Kings County Sheriff’s Office says Kiera and Kemora were also turned over to Bakersfield PD as they continue their investigation. The Kings County Sheriff’s Office will be recommending charges to be filed with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, including evading while driving the wrong way, hit and run with property damage, and resisting arrest.
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