BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A Kern County man faces 26 years to life in prison after being convicted of stabbing and killing a man in Old Town Kern on New Year’s Day 2025.
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office said on December 3, 2025, a Kern County jury found Kenneth Landcraft guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
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The DA’s office said on the night of New Year’s Day 2025, Paul Camarillo Jr. was heading home, walking along Kern Street. During this time, Landcraft was sitting in a parked car by an alleyway between Tulare and Kern Streets.
According to the DA’s office, Landcraft saw Camarillo Jr. walk past his vehicle and drove around the block, waiting for him on the other end of the alley. The DA’s office said Landcraft then got out of his car and approached Camarillo Jr. with a hunting knife.
The DA’s office said Landcraft swung the knife, stabbing Camarillo Jr. through the shoulder and puncturing his lung. Camarillo Jr. escaped but died from his injuries shortly after.
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Bakersfield Police Department officers searched the area and found video surveillance that identified Kenneth Landcraft as the suspect. On January 2, 2025, Landcraft was arrested in the same vehicle, wearing the same jacket and shoes as shown in the video surveillance.
A man died after a stabbing in downtown Bakersfield late Wednesday night. PHOTO: KeyNews.TV
Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said, “It was a tragic New Year’s Day for our community, marked by yet another senseless act of violence. Camarillo Jr. was nearly home when his life was unjustly taken. Landcraft’s actions were both deliberate and heinous, and as a result of this conviction, he now faces a life sentence.”
Landcraft’s sentencing is scheduled for January 9, 2026, where he faces 26 years to life in prison.