'Virtual inmate' caught

On Jan. 18, Electronic Monitoring Program deputies learned one of their inmates, 19-year-old Aaron Garcia of Wasco, removed his electronic monitoring device. Garcia was serving a criminal sentence in “virtual custody” for vehicle theft and possessing a stolen vehicle. The Kern County Sheriff’s deputies obtained a felony warrant for Garcia’s arrest.

Two days later, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Wasco substation deputies located Garcia walking near Broadway and 7th Street and told him he was under arrest. Garcia failed to submit to his arrest and ran away. Deputies pursued Garcia on foot, and he jumped into the back yard of a residence in the 900 block of Oak Avenue.

A civilian at the residence chased Garcia from the property, and deputies apprehended him without further incident. During the foot chase, a pursuing deputy’s body-worn camera disconnected from his uniform and sustained significant damage. The BWC will cost approximately $1,500 to replace.

Garcia was booked into the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Central Receiving Facility on his arrest warrant as well as open charges of resisting arrest, vandalism and escape.

Anyone with additional information regarding this incident (2019-00010957) is requested to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 661-861-3110 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 661-322-4040.

—Kern County Sheriff’s Department