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Friday, May 28 2010 04:31 PM

Police: Teen arrested in beating death of homeless man

By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

A 15-year-old male has been arrested in connection with the beating death of a homeless man, police said.

The teen, whose name has not been released because he hasn't yet been charged, was placed in Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder and an existing probation warrant for a probation violation, according to a Bakersfield Police Department news release. He was arrested early Thursday morning.

A witness indicated that the teen became involved in an altercation in the 900 block of Oak Street Wednesday with the homeless man, 50-year-old Mark Steven Herrold, the news release said. The teen forced Herrold to the ground and then kicked and stomped on his head and neck, police said.

When Herrold was no longer moving, the teen instructed the witness to call for medical aid and walked away, the news release said. Herrold, the witness and the teen were acquaintances who frequented homeless camps in the area.

There were several incidents of violence involving teens in the Bakersfield area during the past week.

Two teens, 13 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in what appears to be a gang-related shooting of a 15-year-old male Wednesday afternoon. And on late Tuesday evening, Mason Ivory Lee Phillips, 17, was fatally shot in the 700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.

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