A bomb scare in East Bakersfield turned out to be the real thing.
An explosion shook many neighbors Thursday evening in the area of Niles and Tulare streets, after the Bakersfield Police Bomb Squad detonated what they are calling an explosive device found inside a gray house.
Police evacuated the closest neighbors and others were told to seek shelter.
"We had to stay inside all day and when the bomb exploded we got scared and got outside," said neighbor Evelyn Jimenez.
It all started about 3 in the afternoon.
"It was a 911 hang-up," said Sgt. Mary DeGeare of the Bakersfield Police Department. "The dispatcher heard a man and a woman fighting and when they called back the man said everything was ok. But we go out on those anyway."
Police say when an officer arrived, 27-year-old Jaime Gonzales was leaving the home. When officers stopped him and patted him down, and Gonzales tried to run.
"There was a brief struggle and they took him into custody," said Sgt. DeGeare.
Police say they went inside the home and saw a gun and other weapons.
At that point, Gonzales told officers there was a pipe bomb in the house.
A woman and a toddler were removed from the home, and the bomb squad sent in a robot to find the explosive. They got it out of the home, and found a safe place to blow it up.
Twice actually, just to make sure.
The whole ordeal took about 4 and a half hours, while traffic was closed on Niles Street for about an hour and a half.
Police say Gonzales was on parole and is a gang member.
They say they don't know why he allegedly made the bomb.
He is charged with a list of crimes, including possession of a destructive device and child endangerment.
