BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A man was sentenced to 32 months in state prison after entering a no contest plea for threatening a Kern County supervisor.
Kern County District Attorney’s Office said on January 16, 2026, Parish Buzzard entered a no contest plea to one count of criminal threats. Buzzard also admitted to a prior strike conviction out of Fresno County for criminal threats, making him eligible for an elevated sentence.
Buzzard’s conviction stems from a series of threatening emails directed at Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores.
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On February 18, 2026, Buzzard was sentenced to serve 32 months in state prison.
On March 18, 2025, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a threatening email sent to the Kern County Board of Supervisor Jeff Flores’ District 3 email. The investigation found that Buzzard, an unknown individual to Flores, had sent over 70 emails directed at Supervisor Flores.
The DA’s office said among the emails, Parrish threatened “bash” Flores’ “brains in” followed by “Give me my f****** money” as well as “I’m going to open fire on your hospital.”
The emails contained racial slurs, with multiple emails containing photos of various weapons, according to the DA’s office.
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Parrish was taken into custody on March 26, 2025.
District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer commented by saying, “The first amendment ensures that public officials are subject to scrutiny and critique, but criminal laws demand that they are not subjected to criminal threats. Efforts to influence public policy through intimidation and violence are forms of domestic terrorism that neither America in general, nor Kern County in particular, will tolerate.”