On February 17, 2024, at about 7:32 p.m., 49-year-old Maximiliano Pineda was fatally shot in the 10300 block of Tatum Street in Lamont, California. Deputies from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office found Pineda and 32-year-old Ernesto Garcia Jr. both suffering multiple gunshot wounds; Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene and Pineda was taken to Kern Medical, where he later died.

The KCSO Homicide Unit has classified this as a double homicide and is actively investigating. No arrests or suspects have been publicly identified. Community members have voiced concern and called for greater safety and cooperation with investigators. Friends and family have memorialized Pineda on sites honoring victims of gun violence.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office at 661-861-3110 or the Kern Secret Witness hotline at 661-322-4040; anonymous tips are accepted. Did anyone in the Lamont area see or hear anything that night?