Law enforcement negotiated with the “bomb-strapped” Bakersfield Chase Bank robber for hours before they made the decision to end the stand-off violently by “blowing his head off.”
Anthony Scott Searles-Harris’ former defense attorney, Arturo Revelo, detailed how law enforcement drove him at “97 miles per hour” to help stop the harrowing situation.
The 41-year-old man had walked into the downtown bank and declared he had a bomb. He barricaded himself and his hostages inside. A witness said the suspect stated that it was a “bad day to be at the bank.”
Revelo said Searles-Harris requested to speak with him, vaulting him into a hostage situation after law enforcement hurriedly picked him up from his home in Tehachapi. The attorney was driven to the scene in downtown Bakersfield and stayed in the command center there for several hours, he said.
During that time, he tried on multiple occasions to speak to Searles-Harris, but was rebuffed. The attorney said he believed Searles-Harris hated him and believed he contributed to a conspiracy that set him up to be convicted for sex crimes. The suspect believed evidence that would’ve proved his innocence wasn’t used in court, he said.
Searles-Harris, whom Revelo described as a “narcissist,” also asked to speak to one of his victims. The victim, now grown and no longer the underage girl he was convicted of misconduct towards, told him to surrender, according to Revelo.
He refused. Revelo said a box of legal defense documents Searles-Harris requested in exchange for the hostages was received, but he never kept up his end of the bargain. The hostages, employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, stayed inside with the man.
Searles-Harris eventually gave up two hostages and had discussions with police about food and water, but negotiations stalled.
Revelo said that’s when the FBI stepped in. He believed that his former client wanted the FBI to take over because he knew they would kill him. Law enforcement said Searles-Harris may have targeted a bank because he knew there was a higher chance of federal law enforcement intervention.
Ultimately, Searles-Harris was right about the FBI. Revelo said the agency took command and moved heavily-armed officers in to neutralize the threat. The move was considered risky because Searles-Harris had told captives that he had a “dead-man’s switch” trigger that would go off if he died, igniting the alleged explosives on himself and some captives.
But Revelo said the agency, which did not believe the bombs were real, was willing to take the risk. He said the agents gained entry into the building and “blew his head off” right in front of the hostages. The captives were released unharmed.
“He was having a breakdown, and yeah, he was right,” he said. “The FBI was going to come in and kill him.”
With the dramatic robbery, Revelo believes his former client wanted to bring attention to his case, end his life, and “to make a symbol of his death.”
The defense attorney expressed considerable vitriol against the FBI, who he believed were too aggressive in ending Searles-Harris’ life. He called members of the FBI there a “death squad.”
Revelo didn’t like his former client, but his death filled him with regret and gave him nightmares.
“I’ve been looking at his ugly face time and time again as I go to sleep,” he said.
Law enforcement never allowed Revelo to speak to the suspect despite the attorney’s pleas. He isn’t sure why they wouldn’t let him speak to Searles-Harris, whom he thinks he could’ve gotten out of the situation alive.
“It was a complicated story there,” he said. “I could have walked him out. But they wouldn’t let me.”