NewsLocal News

Actions

Shafter man shot during standoff pleaded not guilty

Man refused to come out even after being shot
KCSO exchanges gunfire with standoff suspect in Shafter
Shafter man shot in chest after stand-off with KCSO and SWAT
Posted
and last updated

UPDATE (April 3, 4:45 p.m. p.m.) 

John Wells, 55, the suspect who was shot in Saturday night's standoff in Shafter pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to multiple charges.

Those charges included assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a firearm and resisting arrest as well as 7 counts of attempted murder and 1 count of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.

He is due back in court on April 11.

Wells was medically cleared and booked in the central receiving facility on Sunday.

The Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT team was on scene at a home in Shafter Saturday night and early Sunday morning to assist the Shafter Police Department with a situation that started out as a theft investigation.

KCSO said Wells brandished a firearm and ran back inside of the home on Atlantic Avenue near North Valley.

Around 9 p.m. his mother came out of the home. 

Shots were fired around 11:15 p.m. and Wells refused to come out even after getting shot in the chest, KCSO said. 

The deputies involved in the shooting were not injured and their identities have not yet been released. Authorities served a search warrant at the home around 4:45 a.m. on Sunday.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Sunday

08/31/2025

Sunny

103° / 75°

0%

Monday

09/01/2025

Sunny

106° / 79°

0%

Tuesday

09/02/2025

Mostly Sunny

103° / 74°

3%

Wednesday

09/03/2025

Sunny

101° / 75°

0%

Thursday

09/04/2025

Sunny

102° / 74°

0%

Friday

09/05/2025

Sunny

101° / 72°

0%

Saturday

09/06/2025

Sunny

98° / 70°

3%

Sunday

09/07/2025

Sunny

96° / 70°

0%