BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — While overall homicides are declining in Bakersfield, killings involving people experiencing homelessness are on the rise, police say, and those cases often present the toughest challenges for investigators.
Eighteen-year-old Brooklyn, who is currently unhoused in Bakersfield, said she has lived through repeated violence on the streets.
“I have tried to report it. I have been physically assaulted. I have been sexually assaulted,” she said. “It’s sad.”
Bakersfield police Sgt. Alex Paiz has worked with victims like Brooklyn for years, first as a homicide detective and now as part of the department’s IMPACT unit, which handles homeless and quality-of-life crimes.
“You can tell at certain times of the day she might be more stable than others,” Paiz said. “That’s just their life. That’s survival. Each day is a survival.”
Citywide, violent crime has dropped thanks to targeted enforcement. Homicides in Bakersfield fell from 26 in 2024 to nine so far in 2025. But cases involving homeless victims increased from five in 2023 to eight in 2024, accounting for nearly one in three killings last year. Data shows they make up a higher share of cases compared with categories such as gang-related or financial-gain killings, which have declined.
“They're not able to take care of themselves, either mental health or their health,” Paiz said. “We'll drive around. They're too young. You see a lot of young. You'll see a lot of young kids out here.”
Investigators say many cases are homeless-on-homeless disputes, often fueled by drugs or untreated mental illness.
“A simple altercation that escalates — unfortunately we’re seeing more people take lives over senseless stuff,” Sgt. James Jones of the homicide unit said.
Jones said these investigations differ from most homicide scenes.
“Nine times out of ten it’s outdoors,” Jones said. “It’s not a fixed structure like we would normally find. People go by monikers, so we don’t always have a true name. We rely on DNA and fingerprints just to prove who lived there.”
He added that guns are now turning up more often. “Years ago it was rare to see someone homeless with a firearm. Now it’s becoming more common,” Jones said. Paiz estimated officers recover at least one firearm from an encampment every month.
One case that still stands out for Paiz is the 2021 murder of 48-year-old John Anthony Sosa Jr., who was found stabbed near Ming Avenue and Valhalla Drive.
“It was a hunting-style knife to the chest, to the neck,” Paiz recalled. “I had four of those cases.”
A footprint at the scene eventually linked the case to Corey Spells, who was already in custody for a robbery. Investigators later found Spells with the same knife used in the killing, and DNA confirmed his involvement. He was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to life in prison.
“I don’t know if he thought he was ridding Bakersfield of its homeless population, or if he thought he was helping somehow,” Paiz said. “But he was just randomly stabbing homeless people.”
Despite the difficulties, police and outreach workers are trying to prevent more cases.
“I think these types of crimes are really heartbreaking," ” said Lt. Nicole Anderberg, who heads up the IMPACT unit. "Because these individuals, you know, like like any victim are, you know, they're somebody's child, they could be somebody's mother or father, brother or sister, and, you know, at some point in their life things didn't work out well for them."
Through the Community Vitality program, Bakersfield police partner with case managers to provide intensive services to the city’s most chronically homeless residents.
"We're trying to always continue to build that relationship with them with the hopes that We will one day be able to connect them and with the services and that it'll it'll be meaningful," Anderberg sai.
For Brooklyn, Paiz said he hopes she'll accept help, but he knows from experience that's not always the case.
"I'm going to go waste my time and find out some more about this street life and earn some more," Brooklyn said before we left.
Officials say that while the city has made progress reducing certain categories of violent crime, they are shifting attention toward more vulnerable populations, including people experiencing homelessness and victims of domestic violence.
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