Former Kern County Deputy Takes Plea Deal

Sherriff’s deputy Nick Clerico responded to aid another deputy who was involved in a fight at the Longbranch Saloon. Nick was a well-liked deputy who was respected by his peers and who loved his job helping protect the community. Unfortunately, even with lights and siren, he collided with a vehicle driven by the victim when it entered the intersection of West China Grade Loop and North Chester. The CHP decided that Nick was at fault even though the victim was obligated by law to yield to emergency lights and siren. Nick’s speed was over the limit and that was the basis for finding he did not clear the intersection before the collision.

Nick suffered significant injuries and has not been able to return to work since the incident. Nick never went to work that day thinking it would end like this. He has hopes that the family of the victim will someday be able to understand that he intended no harm and the incident was truly an accident.

Kyle J. Humphrey handled the case for his office and said one of the hardest parts of reaching the positive result in this case was the problem with getting people to understand that Nick was really forced to drive at that high speed to assist the other deputy. Kern County still uses one man patrol cars and back up is always a long way off. Getting the idea across that a regular citizen would want an officer to respond as quickly as possible applies equally to another officer in need. Once people viewed the case with more understanding, the case was able to resolve. Nick did not deserve to go to jail and he did not go to jail. Nick will pay $570.00 in fines, complete 240 hours of community service and complete 3 years of unsupervised probation.

The Humphrey & Thompson handles all manner of criminal case. Kyle handles the defense for clients in both federal and state court. They can cover you from the pre-filing stages through jury trial. As seasoned trial lawyers, they can tell you that actually doing jury trials is absolutely necessary in obtaining better outcomes across the board. Always find out, has your lawyer tried a jury trial? If you want a lawyer who has actually tried cases and won difficult cases, call Kyle and Jared. If you’re accused of a crime, make sure you have an experienced Bakersfield criminal defense lawyer on your side who will actually work for you. Kyle Humphrey has more than 30 years of criminal defense experience to offer your case. Contact us at (661) 327-1360 or fill out our online form to schedule a case consultation today.

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