BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield Police Department said Wednesday afternoon they negotiated the surrender of a man armed with a machete on the roof of a Downtown Bakersfield business.
BPD said they received reports shortly before 8:30 a.m. of a man on the roof of a business in the 2300 block of Eye St. throwing rocks at vehicles on 24th Street.
When officers arrived, they found 44-year-old Raymond Valenzuela of Bakersfield on the roof of a single-story building, armed with a machete-type knife and actively destroying property on the roof of the business.
"During officers' interaction with Valenzuela he repeatedly threatened to kill them and also made self-harm-related statements," said BPD in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.
Members of the Bakersfield City Fire Department, the Mobile Mental Health Evaluation Team, and police negotiators eventually negotiated Valenzuela's safe surrender at around 12:20 p.m. and he was taken into custody. Valenzuela was transported to a local hospital after complaining of pain.
He will later be booked into Kern County jail for a pre-existing parole violation warrant, being under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting officers with violence, and felony vandalism.
Due to Valenzuela repeatedly throwing large items onto 24th Street, officers closed the roadway to protect the public.
