Murder convict flees custody at Kern County courthouse
Cesar M. Hernandez, 34.
Search teams mobilized
– Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are searching for Cesar M. Hernandez, 34, who escaped custody Thursday morning after arriving at the Kern County Superior Courthouse in Delano.
Hernandez was being transported to a court appearance when he evaded custody at approximately 10:45 a.m. Upon arrival, he jumped out of a transport van and fled the scene. He remains at large.
Hernandez is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing approximately 161 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing an orange top and orange pants.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has established an incident command post and is coordinating search efforts with assistance from the California Highway Patrol, the Delano and McFarland police departments, and investigative units from North Kern, Kern Valley, and Wasco state prisons.
Hernandez was transferred from Los Angeles County to state custody on June 27, 2019. He is serving a 25-years-to-life sentence with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, a second-strike offense.
According to the department, 99 percent of individuals who have escaped from adult institutions, camps, or community-based programs without permission since 1977 have been apprehended.
Anyone with information on Hernandez’s whereabouts is urged to contact law enforcement, call 9-1-1, or reach Lt. Anthony Sotello, the incident commander, at (661) 721-6300, extension 5506.
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