Man guilty of murder in 2022 east Bakersfield shooting

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury has convicted a man of murder for a deadly shooting that happened in 2022 in east Bakersfield.

Jurors on Thursday found Richard Cortez, 33, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Joshua Samarippas, 36. He faces a life term in prison.

Cortez told investigators he had run-ins with Samarippas in the past. He said, “The dude had a gun, he pointed it at me,” but then said that happened on an earlier occasion and denied involvement in his death, according to court filings.

Surveillance video captured a stolen pickup following Samarippas as he walked on Center Street the night of Dec. 30, 2022, prosecutors said Friday in a release. The pickup stopped and Cortez, the driver, got out and fired two shots from a handgun, according to the release.

Samarippas ran to the 900 block of Pesante Road, where he was found slumped against a vehicle. He was taken to Kern Medical and pronounced dead hours later.

The pickup was found abandoned. A plastic cup inside the truck had Cortez’s fingerprints on it, court filings said.

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