Benjamin Alexander Bernal, a 36-year-old Hispanic/Latino man, was shot to death in the predawn hours of September 15, 2025, inside a residence on the 200 block of Philippine Street in Taft, California. Deputies from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office arrived around 3:50 a.m. and found him dead at the scene. The coroner later determined he died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest, and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
According to court documents summarized by local reporters, the incident unfolded as a domestic intrusion. Investigators say a woman told deputies she had been asleep next to Bernal when she awoke to a man standing over them with a flashlight and a handgun; she recounted seeing four muzzle flashes and recognized the intruder as her estranged husband. Moments earlier, dispatchers had taken a call from a man who confessed he had “just shot and killed someone.”
Deputies arrested 34-year-old Nahaman Bucato outside the home without incident. He was booked and charged with first-degree murder and assault with a semi-automatic firearm; court records showed a hearing set for September 29, 2025. Authorities publicly identified Bernal a week later, solidifying the timeline of the killing and the charges that followed.
Public records and independent databases recorded the killing in Taft on the specified date and location, and listed Bernal by name and age. Those same online records, along with a community homicide index, identify Bernal as male and of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.
