BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — An Oildale man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting another man with a pellet gun through a garage window on Beardsley Avenue.
Darin Williford, 46, is accused of killing Mitchell Lee Farley, 38, during a dispute on July 12.
According to the offense report, Kern County Fire Department responded to a 911 call of a possible overdose around 8 p.m. that evening. First responders discovered Farley's body on a bed inside a garage where he had been living and found he had a pellet gun shot wound to the left side of his chest.
Kern County Sheriff's deputies interviewed several residents in the neighborhood who explained that Williford had accused Farley of stealing a backpack and was trying to fight Farley, who had locked himself inside the garage.
One witness told detectives that Williford removed an air conditioning unit on the side of the garage and shot inside with a pellet gun before fleeing from the scene on foot.
On July 24, Williford contacted detectives, saying he wanted to clear his name.
Williford claims he did have a dispute with Farley and wanted to fight him, but eventually left to play disc golf.
He told detectives that when he returned, he looked in Farley's garage and saw him lying on the ground, gasping for air.
He said he forced his way inside the garage, giving Farley CPR before he says he watched the life go out of his eyes.
When asked why he fled the scene, Williford told detectives he was scared and did not want to talk to any cops.
He said he wished and prayed he had never left the scene.
Williford is due back in court on August 6 for a pre-preliminary hearing.
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