BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — Three people pleaded not guilty in the January 2025 stabbing death of 21-year-old Jason Raymond Mena in east Bakersfield, according to Kern County Superior Court records. The primary suspect, Matthew Chavez, faces murder.
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Matthew Chavez also faces two enhancement charges related to the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon and circumstances of aggravation involving great violence or bodily harm.
Co-defendants Larry Chavez and Michelle Ballantine face accessory charges. They also pleaded not guilty, the court website shows.
On Jan. 20, 2025, at around 2 a.m., deputies were called to the 3100 block of Pioneer Drive, near Oswell Street, regarding a report of a person who was stabbed. Upon arrival, Jason Mena, 21, of Bakersfield, was found with stab wounds. He later died at the hospital.
Kern County Sheriff’s detectives arrived and assumed the investigation.
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Court records show that Matthew Chavez, Larry Chavez, and Michelle Ballantine are due in court on Jan. 30, 2026, for a readiness hearing and on February 9, 2026, for a tentative trial.