BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 A Kern County jury Tuesday morning found Michael Allen Fontes guilty of raping a Bakersfield woman and leaving her for dead almost 30 years ago.<\/p>\n
Fontes, 53, was found guilty of attempted murder and rape. He was found not guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery, but instead convicted of a lesser included charge of simple kidnapping.<\/p>\n
The jury found it to be true that Fontes inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, but didn’t find true that he used a deadly or dangerous weapon.<\/p>\n
Fontes is facing at least 32 years to life in prison, according to Ken Russell, the prosecutor on this case. His sentencing is set for Dec. 4.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Fontes’ first trial ended with jurors acquitting him of sodomy and deadlocking on other counts.<\/p>\n
Cari Anderson, the victim, was attacked after she left Buckhorn Bar on Nov. 23, 1997. She survived but suffered permanent injuries.<\/p>\n
Anderson died in 2011 at the age of 63. That same year, Fontes was arrested after DNA testing linked him to genetic material left at the crime scene.<\/p>\n
Fontes’ attorney, Phillip Gillet, argued Fontes’ DNA being at the scene doesn’t mean he’s the one who attacked Anderson, claiming he had consensual sex with her long before the attack occurred.<\/p>\n
Russell said the evidence points squarely at Fontes as the perpetrator and asked the jury to not engage in speculation.<\/p>\n