A death in a Kern County jail: what families need to know about Lerdo and the Central Receiving Facility

We are very sorry for your loss. If your son, daughter, husband, wife, brother or parent died in a Kern County jail, you may be getting very little information and a lot of silence. A Kern County jail death lawyer can help you get records and protect your family's rights, but you should also understand the basics yourself, starting now.

This guide covers the Kern County Sheriff's Office jails, including the Lerdo facilities north of Bakersfield and the Central Receiving Facility downtown. It explains what public reporting shows about deaths there, what families have alleged in court, who can be held responsible, and the deadlines. One recent court ruling in a Lerdo-era case shows how a small filing mistake can cost a family part of its case, so please read the section on deadlines closely. If you want us to look at your situation, ask for a free, confidential review.

What the records show about deaths in Kern County jails

Facility	Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility, Lerdo Justice Facility, Central Receiving Facility, and Mojave Jail; older state lists also show a Lerdo Max/Med facility
Operated by	Kern County Sheriff's Office (the Sheriff is also the county coroner)
Location	Lerdo facilities in the Bakersfield area; Central Receiving Facility at 1415 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield; Mojave Jail
Population	Rated capacity of 1,344 at Lerdo Pre-Trial, 796 at Lerdo Justice, 374 at Lerdo Max/Med and 292 at the Central Receiving Facility (state BSCC figures from about 2019–2020; current figures not confirmed)
Deaths in custody	2023: 10 or 11, depending on the source, with 6 suicides · 2024: at least 5 by mid-August, including two people shot by deputies · 2026: 4 reported through mid-September, including two at arrest scenes (KBAK, KGET)
Oversight	Kern County Grand Jury (2018 report on Lerdo conditions); state reporting of every in-custody death to the California Department of Justice

The Kern County Sheriff's Office posts its own in-custody death reports online, as California law now requires. Local reporters rely on those reports. Keep in mind that the Sheriff's count includes some deaths that happen during an arrest, not only deaths inside a jail, so yearly totals are not all jail deaths.

2023 was the worst year on record for suicides. KBAK reported in November 2023 that there had been 10 deaths under the Sheriff's supervision that year, and that six were suicides, "the highest number on record." KGET later reported 11 deaths for 2023, citing the Sheriff's own death reporting. According to KBAK, there were 91 deaths in Kern County custody from 2008 to late 2023: 39 from natural causes, 22 suicides, and the rest accidental.

The deaths have continued. By August 14, 2024, KGET counted five deaths in Sheriff's custody that year, two of them people shot by deputies. In 2025, a 60-year-old man found unresponsive in his cell at Lerdo Pre-Trial died the next day; the coroner ruled the death accidental, caused by fentanyl and buprenorphine, according to KBAK. In September 2026, a 42-year-old woman awaiting trial died at Lerdo Pre-Trial, the fourth in-custody death the Sheriff reported in 2026, KBAK reported. Her cause of death was still pending. We could not confirm full-year totals for 2021, 2022, 2024 or 2025, so we do not list them. These counts are as of October 2026.

What goes wrong in Lerdo and the Central Receiving Facility

Every death is different, but public records and lawsuits point to a few repeated problems.

• Suicide and mental-health crisis. Suicides made up more than half of the 2023 deaths reported by KBAK. Sheriff Donny Youngblood told KBAK that people believed to be suicidal are placed in a suicide cell and checked "a minimum every half hour." Families in two lawsuits allege those protections failed. Our guide to jail suicide and wrongful death claims explains how these cases work.
• Violence between people held together. One family alleges their son was beaten by cellmates at the Central Receiving Facility, treated, and then sent back to the same cell (see below).
• Drugs and medical emergencies. The 2025 Lerdo death ruled a fentanyl and buprenorphine overdose is one example. Withdrawal, overdose and missed medical warning signs come up again and again in jail death cases.
• Old buildings and thin staffing. In 2018 the Kern County Grand Jury found parts of Lerdo needed repairs, including doors that did not close properly, broken lights and faucets, and missing shower heads, and recorded staff concerns about detention deputy staffing, the Bakersfield Californian reported. "The shortage of sheriff's deputies in detention is not a new problem," the Sheriff said at the time.

The county has acknowledged gaps in jail mental-health care. In February 2025 it sought $5.7 million to create a new Medical and Behavioral Health Section inside the Sheriff's Detention Bureau, with 11 new positions, according to the Bakersfield Californian. A plan on paper does not decide whether care was adequate for your family member.

Who can be held responsible for a death in a Kern County jail

Our guide to whether you can sue if someone dies in jail in California explains the basics. In Kern County, the possible defendants include:

• The County of Kern and the Sheriff's Office, for state-law claims such as wrongful death and negligence, and under federal civil-rights law when a county policy, custom, or failure to train helped cause the death.
• Individual deputies and staff, under federal civil-rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1983), if they knew of a serious risk and did not respond reasonably. For a person awaiting trial, this claim arises under the Fourteenth Amendment; for someone serving a sentence, under the Eighth Amendment.
• Medical staff and the agencies that employ them. In the Stephen Ingle case, the family also sued the Kern County Hospital Authority, which runs Kern Medical, and nurses who evaluated him. A federal court described the Hospital Authority as "a local unit of government separate and apart from the county." That matters a great deal for deadlines, as explained below.

Who can bring the case: the estate can bring a survival claim for what the person suffered before death, and close family members, such as a spouse, children, and in some situations parents or others who depended on the person, can bring a wrongful death claim. Federal courts in California have allowed the estate to recover for the person's own suffering in some cases.

Recent settlements and verdicts

Few Kern County jail death cases have public results. These are the reported outcomes we could verify in cases families brought publicly. They were obtained by other law firms, not by LaCour. What the families alleged are allegations unless a court decided otherwise.

One major case is still open. Stephen Ingle's family alleges he was assaulted by cellmates at the Central Receiving Facility in March 2023, treated, and returned to a shared cell with the same people, and that he died on March 29, 2023, after weeks on life support, according to the Bakersfield Californian. The family's federal cases against the county and the Hospital Authority were consolidated in June 2025. As of October 2026 we found no final result.

Every case is different. Past results, including those listed here, do not predict the outcome of any other case. See our list of jail death settlements and verdicts in California for results in other counties, and how much a jail death lawsuit is worth for what drives the value of a claim.

Hurt in custody, not killed?

Some people leave Lerdo or the Central Receiving Facility alive but badly hurt, after a beating, a missed prescription, or an illness staff did not treat. They may have claims against the county and the staff involved. The six-month claim deadline, and the need to file with every public agency involved, applies to injuries too.

Read our guides on being beaten by deputies in jail, denied medication in jail, and jail medical neglect and deliberate indifference, or ask for a free, confidential review.

How long do you have to file a claim against Kern County?

For state-law claims like wrongful death and negligence, California requires a written government claim within six months of the death (Government Code § 911.2). If the claim is rejected in writing, you generally have six months from that notice to file suit. Relief for a late claim is narrow and must be requested within one year. Families lose state claims simply by waiting. Our guide to the six-month government claim deadline explains the rules step by step.

Kern County has a trap that families should know about. In the Ingle case, the family presented its claims to the County of Kern. In October 2025, a federal judge dismissed the state-law claims against the Hospital Authority and two nurses because no claim had been presented to the Hospital Authority itself, with limited permission to amend. The court wrote that "failure to file a claim is fatal to the cause of action." If medical care is part of your concern, a claim may need to go to more than one public agency. The Hospital Authority's own claim form says claims go by mail to Kern Medical Legal Service, PO Box 12319, Bakersfield, CA 93389, or by hand to its Clerk of the Board at 1700 Mount Vernon Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93306, within six months. Claims against the County itself are handled through its Risk Management office; confirm the current filing address before you send anything, and keep proof of the date.

Federal civil-rights claims under § 1983 need no government claim and generally must be filed within two years in California. Do not rely on the longer deadline. The six-month clock still controls your state-law claims.

What to do in the first weeks after a death at Lerdo or CRF

Our checklist on what to do when a loved one dies in jail covers each step. The most urgent:

1. Request the coroner's report and death certificate. In Kern County, the Sheriff is also the coroner, so the same office runs the jail and investigates the death. Our guide to autopsy reports, records and jail video explains what to ask for.
2. Do not sign anything from the county, the Hospital Authority, or an insurance company before talking to a lawyer.
3. Write down names, dates, and what you were told, including phone calls from jail staff, chaplains, or the coroner.
4. Keep every letter, voicemail, text, and jail phone or video-visit record. Save your loved one's social media and phone.
5. Write down the names of anyone held with your family member who may have seen what happened.
6. Talk to a lawyer well before the six-month mark. We send preservation letters right away for housing-unit video, cell-check and safety-check logs, medical and mental-health records, and classification records.

How LaCour handles Kern County jail death cases

LaCour Trial Lawyers is a trial firm, and a partner leads every in-custody death case. Our Bakersfield office is at 4900 California Ave., Suite B-210, Bakersfield, CA 93309, and we take cases statewide; see also our guide to deaths in the Fresno County Jail. Our lawyers speak Spanish, and you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Learn more about our police misconduct and wrongful death in custody practice or our overview of deaths in California jails and prisons.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about California and federal law and about public records as of its date. It is not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney–client relationship. Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.