Gabriel Lopez Pleads Not Guilty in Pursuit-Crash Case That Killed Kevin Stevens

Lopez pleads not guilty; judge reduces bail

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Gabriel Lopez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to four felony charges arising from the September 5 police pursuit and crash that killed Kevin Daniel Stevens, according to 23ABC's report from the Kern County Superior Court hearing.

23ABC reports that Lopez entered not-guilty pleas to second-degree murder, conspiracy, reckless evading and evading a peace officer causing injury. A plea records the defendant's response to the charges; it is not evidence that the allegations are true or false. Lopez is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The station also reports that a judge reduced Lopez's bail from more than $1 million to $200,000. What’s the Scoop With Broach had not independently obtained the hearing minute order Wednesday evening, so the plea and changed bail amount are attributed to 23ABC rather than presented as independently verified court-record findings.

23ABC reported that co-defendant Isaiah Andrade was not present and that his case was continued to Thursday. The station did not report that Andrade entered a plea Wednesday, and the charges attributed to each defendant should not be merged.

Kevin Stevens was killed on his 22nd birthday

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A police pursuit ended in a fatal crash early Saturday, September 5, after a fleeing vehicle struck an adult man on the west sidewalk of Airport Drive, according to an account released by the Bakersfield Police Department and reported by 23ABC.

The Kern County Coroner's Office has identified the pedestrian as Kevin Daniel Stevens, 22, of Bakersfield. BakersfieldNow reported the coroner's identification Tuesday, and Stevens' aunt told 23ABC that September 5 was his birthday.

His aunt, Chanel Stevens, described him as energetic and helpful and said he had been working toward recovery from drug addiction and trying to return home. Those family statements document the person his relatives lost; they do not determine criminal responsibility or whether officers followed pursuit policy.

BPD said the crash occurred after officers placed spike strips near Airport Drive and Olive Drive. Police said the driver tried to avoid the strips, lost control and hit Stevens. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol's official incident page independently listed a 1:41 a.m. injury incident in the 534–698 block of Airport Drive under its Bakersfield communications center. CHP categorized the entry as a hit-and-run with injuries. That dispatch classification confirms an incident at the location and time but does not, by itself, resolve criminal responsibility or identify the person who died.

Police say the pursuit began while officers sought a wanted man

According to BPD's account, Special Enforcement Unit officers were trying to locate 21-year-old Isaiah Andrade at about 1:30 a.m. Police said Andrade had an active Ramey warrant involving alleged firearm possession and gang-related offenses and that officers believed he might still have the firearm.

Officers reported seeing Andrade near Clover Mountain Court and Pine Meadow Drive. BPD said he entered the passenger side of a vehicle when officers moved to arrest him and that the vehicle then fled.

Police identified the driver as 20-year-old Gabriel Lopez and said he continued at high speed southbound on Airport Drive. The speed described by police had not been independently established in the official material reviewed by What’s the Scoop With Broach, and no conclusion about the pursuit's compliance with department policy has been announced.

The four charges remain allegations

BPD said Lopez and Andrade ran from the vehicle after the crash and were quickly taken into custody. The department reported a minor use of force during the arrests and said both men were taken to a hospital for medical clearance before booking.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office booking record listed Lopez, booking number SO2438199, on four open felony allegations: second-degree murder under Penal Code section 187(a), evading a peace officer causing injury, conspiracy to commit a crime and reckless evading. The record identifies the arrest location as Olive Drive and Airport Drive. Before Wednesday's hearing, it listed total calculated bail of $1.31 million; 23ABC now reports the judge set bail at $200,000.

Neither a booking entry nor a not-guilty plea decides the case. Prosecutors must prove the filed charges in court, and bail is a pretrial release condition—not a punishment or determination of guilt.

The booking record attributes those four allegations to Lopez. It does not show that passenger Isaiah Andrade faces the murder count. Police previously described firearm- and gang-related allegations connected to Andrade and his warrant, but each man’s charges must be reported separately.

The pursuit itself is under administrative review

BPD classified the episode as a critical incident and opened an administrative investigation. That review is separate from CHP's collision investigation and from the criminal investigation involving the two arrested men.

The initial account says officers deployed spike strips as an intervention and that the fleeing vehicle swerved before hitting the pedestrian. It does not answer every question about pursuit speeds, the duration and route of the chase, supervisory authorization, the exact distance between police vehicles and the fleeing car, or whether other tactics were available.

Those questions should be answered with dispatch recordings, vehicle and body-camera video, collision reconstruction, written pursuit policy and a clear timeline. Demanding those records is not a claim that officers caused the death, just as repeating the word 'suspect' does not settle whether every police decision was reasonable. A bystander died, and the public deserves a complete accounting from every agency involved.

BPD’s posted policy requires a continuing risk balance

The pursuit chapter in the policy manual currently posted through a Bakersfield Police Department website says officers and supervisors must continuously weigh the seriousness of the suspected offense against the danger to innocent motorists, officers and the public. It lists pedestrian traffic, time of day, vehicle speeds, road conditions, whether the suspect is already identified and whether a later arrest poses comparatively little risk among the factors to consider.

The same posted policy says a pursuit should end when the apparent risks of continuing outweigh the risks of escape. It also assigns supervisors responsibility for continuous risk assessment, authority to order termination and preparation of a post-pursuit review. Those written standards frame the questions investigators must answer; they do not establish from the public account alone that the pursuit either complied with or violated policy.

BPD’s online manual is dated October 25, 2022. The department should identify the version in force on September 5 and disclose any later revisions that materially changed pursuit or spike-strip rules. A publicly posted older manual is useful documentary context, but it is not proof that every provision remained unchanged or that officers followed it in this case.

The critical evidence includes when supervisors were notified, what speeds and traffic conditions were reported, how officers assessed danger to pedestrians, and what was known about the wanted passenger and the vehicle before spike strips were deployed. Releasing the post-pursuit review, subject to lawful redactions, would let residents evaluate those decisions against the department’s own standard rather than rely on speculation.

What remains unresolved

The reviewed public reports do not establish why Stevens was on the sidewalk before the crash. His presence in a public pedestrian area does not make him responsible for the fleeing vehicle leaving the roadway.

CHP’s final collision findings, the complete prosecution filing and any judicial probable-cause determination were not available in the reviewed public records. The murder allegation does not resolve how investigators assign criminal responsibility, whether prosecutors will amend the counts or whether any charge will result in a conviction.

BPD asked anyone with information to call 661-327-7111. People who witnessed the pursuit or crash should preserve original video and provide it directly to investigators rather than editing clips, naming unconfirmed victims or publishing unsupported claims about fault.

About the image

The accompanying image is an authentic June 7, 2008 photograph of a Bakersfield Police Department patrol cruiser. It is a file image and does not show Saturday's pursuit, the fatal crash, the pedestrian, either arrested man or any officer involved.

Photographer Defiant15E released the image into the public domain through Wikimedia Commons. It is used as documentary agency context and does not imply endorsement by the photographer, BPD or Wikimedia Commons.