Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announces that the District Attorney’s Office...

Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announces that the District Attorney’s Office has filed a criminal complaint against Umar Faheem Waldron for the murder of James Craig Turner that occurred between August 7th and August 8th, 2026.

A complex and extensive initial investigation led by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office and the California City Police Department into the death of Turner was conducted with assistance from the Lancaster Police Department, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Bakersfield Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, California Highway Patrol, and the Kern Regional Crime Laboratory. On August 18, 2026, suspect Waldron was located in Las Vegas, Nevada, taken into custody, and subsequently extradited to Kern County.

On September 8, 2026, prosecutors charged Waldron with First Degree Murder. In the complaint, it is also alleged that Waldron has a prior strike conviction for an attempted murder out of Los Angeles County, that the crime involved great violence, that the victim was particularly vulnerable, and that the defendant served a prior prison term.

An arraignment hearing is scheduled for today, September 8, 2025, at 3:00pm in the Kern County Superior Court.

As with any criminal case, a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the charges are proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt.