BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man accused of shooting and wounding a man outside an East Bakersfield bar and who was then shot himself while running from law enforcement has pleaded no contest to five felonies, court records say.
Henry Rodriguez, 40, faces 16 years and four months in prison, according to prosecutors. He pleaded no contest Tuesday to assault with a firearm on a person, recklessly evading a peace officer, resisting arrest and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. Charges of attempted murder and another assault charge were dismissed.
According to court filings, a deputy patrolling Niles Street just before midnight Dec. 12, 2020, saw a fight and heard a gunshot outside Stella’s Sandtrap. A man entered a blue Toyota Camry and sped east on Niles Street as the deputy followed.
The Camry refused to stop but hit a sign as it turned onto Normandy Drive a few blocks from the bar, documents said. The driver, later identified as Rodriguez, left the car and ran as a deputy chased him on foot.
The filings say Rodriguez “actively resisted arrest” and the deputy shot him in the area of Niles Street and Shalimar Drive. He was taken into custody and recovered from his wounds.
Deputies found a handgun loaded with nine rounds in the Camry. A sheriff’s review board found the shooting justified.
A witness told deputies the man who fired the gun outside the bar was the same person who fled in the Camry.
Sentencing is scheduled April 6.
