BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Three juveniles, ages 12, 13 and 16, face murder charges in connection with a July 18 shooting in East Bakersfield that killed a 53-year-old man and wounded his father.
The Kern County Sheriff's Office arrested all three in connection with the shooting on the 800 block of Crane Street. Each faces allegations of murder, attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang.
The victim, Eric Lancaster, was shot and killed outside a home on Crane Street. His father, Vernon "Wes" Lancaster, was shot at the same time and survived.
"I didn't see my shooter shoot me, but I seen my shooter shoot my son. And it's the most ugliest thing that won't — it won't go away in my mind," Wes said.
Wes said his son was confronted near the mailbox in front of the home. He ran from his chair in the front yard when he realized something was wrong.
"When my son fell, I reached over as hard as I could to hold his hand and tell him to stay with us, stay with us — and it was too late. It was too late already," Wes said.
Everybody on the street stood out here and seen me and my son here. But everybody was afraid. That's really the ugliest thing in the world," Wes said.
Wes claims Eric had no connection to the suspects. He described his son as someone who did not see the bad in people — but said Bakersfield's violence found him anyway.
"He was a living human being that really didn't see the bad in all people, but he's seen the bad in Bakersfield. He says, 'Dad, I'm glad I didn't grow up here.' But in the long run, it got him anyway when he came back," Wes said.
Investigators have not publicly released a motive or explained what allegedly led children as young as 12 to the scene.
Manuel Carrizalez, founder of Stay Focused Ministries in Bakersfield, said the ages of the suspects reflect a crisis that begins long before an arrest.
"It's family. They want to be listened to, they wanna be heard, and they want to be taken care of. And that's what comes with the gangs. It's distorted, but it happens," Carrizalez said.
Carrizalez left gang life years ago and now works with at-risk youth across Bakersfield. He said children dealing with trauma, anger or isolation often seek acceptance in dangerous places.
"We reach them in the schools, reach them in the neighborhoods. If we don't reach them in the neighborhood, then we'll catch them in juvenile," Carrizalez said.
A 15-year-old Bakersfield teen, whose identity is being protected, said the pressure to join that kind of environment started for him around age 10.
"It wasn't really a choice. It was more like, it's either you do this stuff or you're not one of the cool kids. But there's people out there that really help with this. This program is something that really helped me stay out of those problems," the teen said.
The teenager said consistent mentoring through Stay Focused Ministries gave him somewhere else to turn. He said he is now in his junior year of high school, taking Spanish 3 honors, and focused on his grades.
When asked what he would say to a child who believes violence is the only option, he did not hesitate.
"There's a lot of programs out there that can help you direct your anger in a more positive way. If you feel like you need help and you don't want to follow your parents, there are counselors, there are adults out there that will listen to you and they can get you the help that you need," the teen said.
Carrizalez said the window to reach young people is narrow, and the cost of missing it is high.
"They were never made to be gang members, they were never made to be drug addicts, but they were made to win," Carrizalez said.
For Wes, that intervention came too late to save his son. He said he wants the community to stop looking away — and to remember who Eric was.
"He deserves justice," Wes said.
Anyone seeking resources for at-risk youth can contact Stay Focused Ministries at 661-322-4673.
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