Duran Kenneth Dunhill McDowall, 28, was shot and killed on May 27, 2020, at a house on Bandolero Way in Bakersfield during a confrontation tied to an eviction dispute. Two men who had been evicted from the property, Manuel Jesus Ruiz and Douglas Hutchison, returned to confront the homeowner. The homeowner, who is partially paralyzed, tried to flee but fell; McDowall — not the homeowner — intervened and swung a skateboard at Hutchison.

A gunshot struck McDowall in the chest and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses and police reports describe Ruiz and Hutchison acting together and say their motive grew out of anger over the eviction. Both men fled but were captured the next day after a five-hour standoff with SWAT.

The case went to trial; Manuel Jesus Ruiz was convicted of second-degree murder and received 40 years to life, while Douglas Hutchison was acquitted. Are there witnesses or neighbors who remember that night or saw tensions around the eviction in the days before the shooting?