BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A sex offender at the center of a firestorm of criticism against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon pleaded not guilty in Kern County Tuesday to charges of murder and robbery.
James Edward Tubbs, 26, was ordered held on $1 million bail following his arraignment in the 2019 death of Michael Clark.
A criminal complaint provided by the District Attorney’s office says Tubbs killed Clark on or about April 21, 2019.
Clark’s body was found in the Kern River in August 2019. The College Place, Washington man had been reported missing May 2 by friends who visited the area with him.
Tubbs, who identifies as female and goes by the name Hannah Tubbs, is held on $1 million bail, according to inmate booking records.
In 2019, Tubbs was linked through DNA evidence to the 2014 sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in a Denny’s bathroom in Palmdale. Tubbs was 17 at the time.
Gascon, continuing his policy of refusing to try juveniles as adults, did not file a motion to move Tubbs to adult court.
In January, Tubbs pleaded guilty and received a two-year sentence in a juvenile facility.
Tubbs in 2020 was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm in Kern County, according to court records.
Tubbs is due back in court May 20.
