A manhunt is underway to catch the man, police say, shot and killed two brothers who were bail bondsmen trying to apprehend a suspect in southwest Bakersfield. The two men were shot Thursday night in what is usually a quiet neighborhood.
The bail bondsman were searching for a man they bailed out for a drug charge. He was booked into jail Friday morning.
But, a second man who was at the home is the man police say pulled the trigger. 26-year-old Stephen Stewart was still on the loose Friday night. He is wanted on two counts of murder. Anyone with information on where Stewart may be is asked to call Bakersfield Police at 327-7111. Stewart is considered armed and dangerous.
Zachary and Brandon Sims grew up together, worked together and were shot and killed together. The two worked as bail bondsmen for their father, Vincent Sims, who owns Bad Dog Bail Bonds in Bakersfield.
Zachary Sims had a wife and two children. He had just left the military about a month and a half ago. His older brother, Brandon Sims, had worked for the company for about four years and leaves behind a fiance.
The brothers were staking out a house on Kamloops Drive in the Laurelglen area Thursday night, searching for 24-year-old Zachary Perrick. The company had bailed Perrick out after he was charged with possession of a controlled substance. There was a $25,000 warrant for Perrick's arrest.
As the brothers arrived to apprehend Perrick, neighbors heard gunshots. "We got multiple calls, shots fired. Both of the men were already deceased. One was in the front yard. One was in the house. Both of them had multiple gunshot wounds," said Sgt. Mary DeGeare, Bakersfield Police Department.
The Sims brothers were both wearing bulletproof vests. After the shootings, one neighbor performed CPR, trying desperately to save one brother's life. We hid his identity at his family's request.
"I just didn't want to see somebody die so I just tried as much as I could. We ran inside immediately and turned one of the bodies inside over. I tried to do CPR and he came back for a little bit, but the cop told us to leave," he said.
Other neighbors were stunned. "You just never think it would happen on your street. Even on a nice street, I guess anything could happen," said Austin Ramirez.
Police say Perrick took off running, but came back to the home Friday morning and was arrested and booked into the Kern County Jail.
Perrick's criminal history includes two drug charges. Stephen Stewart, the man police believe shot and killed the Sims brothers, took off in a light blue Buick sedan. Stewart has a lengthy criminal history including evading a peace officer and battery of a spouse.
