BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Keith Julifs, 37, appeared in court Thursday to be arraigned on over 20 felony accusations, including attempted murder, while displaced residents of the property wonder what's next for them.
- According to KCSO, Julifs was armed and fired at deputies, prompting the use of a tactical vehicle, the Rook, for his apprehension.
- Residents who lived in another building on the property say they've been displaced after damage from the standoff rendered their home uninhabitable.
- KCSO defended its actions in a press release on Thursday morning, citing California Penal Codes 844 and 1531 for forced entry during the incident.
- Julifs faces over 20 felony charges, including attempted murder, and is scheduled to be back in court in mid-May.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Actions taken by the Kern County Sheriff's Office to apprehend a suspect who held both KCSO and BPD SWAT teams in an over 12-hour standoff on Ray Street have displaced people living in the building. I'm Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter, however in a press release, the Sheriff's Office defends their actions, citing California Penal Codes 844 and 1531.
While 37-year-old Keith Julifs sat in his arraignment hearing facing over 20 felony counts, including attempted murder, assault on a first responder with a firearm, the remnants of the standoff he held law enforcement in remain.
In a press release, the Kern County Sheriff's Office said members of their SWAT team used a vehicle known as a Rook to "dismantle portions of the residence, while providing protection to deputies as they attempted to arrest a violent suspect who was barricaded within the residence and actively shooting at deputies."
According to the website for Ring Power Corporation, a heavy machinery dealer that produces the Rook, says, "The Rook is a tactical vehicle custom-designed and fabricated by Ring Power Corporation from a Cat® chassis," with KCSO saying it can used for a variety of use cases like, "tactical approaches, strategic maneuverability within inner perimeters, and rescue/evacuation of community members, as well as deputies."
According to a spokesperson with the sheriff's office, the Rook was purchased in response to the death of Deputy Phillip Campos and has been used over a dozen times by KCSO and on mutual-aid requests from other law enforcement agencies since 2022.
Back to the incident at hand, in the release from KCSO, they reference Penal Code 844, which gives law enforcement the right to enter a home by force if they believe the person who committed it is there they've notified the people in the home why they're there.
And Penal code 1531, which references warrants, saying, "The officer may break open any outer or inner door or window of a house, or any part of a house, or anything therein, to execute the warrant, if, after notice of his authority and purpose, he is refused admittance."
Thursday afternoon, we went to the residence that was involved in the incident and we met two people who say they rent the front house on the property which was also deemed uninhabitable following the incident.
Stephanie Duke, said she and her husband had been homeless for two years prior, now their life has been turned upside down again.
"I've been painting it, getting it all cleaned up and and now they're wanting to board it up, and now we have to leave. And we were homeless for two years, you know, finally, we had something, you know, rather, I don't know what we're gonna do now."
Elizabeth Ezelo said she just got out of the hospital and now she's not sure what she's going to do.
"I had just gotten out of the hospital, like maybe a week before this, so it's a lot to be displaced, it's a lot right now," said Ezelo.
Julif is slated to be back in court on May 19th and 20th for his pre-preliminary hearing and preliminary hearing, respectively.
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