BAKERSFIELD - The Kern County Sheriff's Department is looking for a group of thieves who robbed a father and son at gunpoint inside a Bakersfield motel. It happened at Motel 6 off Highway 58 and Weedpatch Highway. The motel is in an area known for travelers and truckers.
A motel guest opened his door Thursday night and said the robbers forced their way inside his room. During a violent robbery, the thieves stole the victim's wallet then drove away in his car.
"I was in my room and all I seen was a bunch of police pull up," said Luther Molina, who lives in the motel. "I asked the security what happened and she told me someone was robbed at gunpoint."
The victims were an Arkansas man and his son, passing through Bakersfield.
"An unknown female knocked on the door. He answered the door and spoke to her for several minutes," said Senior Deputy Victor Keesey, Kern County Sheriff's Department.
"While he was speaking to the woman, two Hispanic men forced entry into his room. The victim became involved in a struggle with one man. The other man told him to stop fighting because he had a gun pointed at his son's head," he continued.
Sheriff's deputies said the father eventually gave up. The four thieves took off with in the man's wallet in his maroon Honda Pilot SUV.
"The investigation is still ongoing as to whether they were specifically targeted or if the suspects had any prior information about them being there," noted Keesey.
The Motel 6 is off Weedpatch Highway, in an area known for its truck stop travel plaza.
"Usually the security locks everything down. Nobody can come in or out of here. So unless you're renting, they don't let you in at all," said Fowler.
"You have people coming and going all the time," said Keesey.
"Truckers say don't ever stay here. A lot of women. A lot of people. They steal. They open the back of the trailer," said Victor Molina, a trucker who lives in the area.
Sheriff's deputies said travelers are prime targets for thieves. When people are out of town, they often let their guard down.
"Most people, they don't leave their belongings in the hotel when they check in at night," explained Keesey. "They bring in everything and thieves do know that."
If you have any information about this incident, call the Sheriff's Department at 861-3110 or Secret Witness at 322-4040.