http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733 Man assaulted at beer festival on life support &nbsp; BY STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer e-mail: sswenson@bakersfield.com | Tuesday, Apr 29 2008 8:55 AM Last Updated: Tuesday, Apr 29 2008 1:34 PM Kevin Johnson, who was assaulted at a beer festival, is in critical condition on life support, his sister reported Tuesday. &nbsp; him unconscious, Stacey Brown reported. Bakersfield police confirmed that the initial report that an argument preceded the assault was incorrect. Witnesses said the suspect, Matthew Reed, 33, came up from behind Johnson, struck him in the neck and ran away, Sgt. Greg Terry said. Johnson, the father of four children, is at San Joaquin Hospital. He is in critical condition, nurses said. Brown said the family would be making arrangements to donate his heart if he should die. &ldquo;He has a good heart,&rdquo; she said. Police arrested Reed on suspicion of felony battery in the Saturday incident at the Festival of Beers in Stramler Park. Reed has since posted $25,000 bail and has been released from jail. If Johnson dies, the charges against Reed could be increased, police said. The two men had a longstanding feud over a guitar, Brown said. But Johnson wouldn&rsquo;t fight Reed because Reed has a bad heart and Johnson didn&rsquo;t want to cause any serious problems, Brown said. Johnson, who was born in Los Angeles and attended South High School after coming to Bakersfield in 1989, &ldquo;was very fun loving and talkative,&rdquo; his sister said. &ldquo;You automatically liked him,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;He loved to go to car shows and he loved tattoos,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;He was full of tattoos.&rdquo; Brown said her son loved his uncle and is devastated by his injury. She quoted her son as saying, &ldquo;I want him to wake up and come over and fix my car.&rdquo; Johnson is the father of two boys and two girls, ranging from a baby to grade-school age, she said. The three older children are staying with an aunt, and the baby is staying with her mother, Brown said. He was not employed at the time of the incident, Brown said. &nbsp; it is unfathomable to me how one could have 4 kids, be unemployed, and yet be able to fork out 40 bucks to go drink beer, while your 4 responsibilities are somewhere else believe me, i feel bad for the family, especially the kids, but come on...a little personal responsibility,something this community has seemed to lack in the last few years, would have went a long way, and maybe even stopped this attack Man assaulted at beer festival on life support &nbsp; BY STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer e-mail: sswenson@bakersfield.com | Tuesday, Apr 29 2008 8:55 AM Last Updated: Tuesday, Apr 29 2008 1:34 PM Kevin Johnson, who was assaulted at a beer festival, is in critical condition on life support, his sister reported Tuesday. &nbsp; him unconscious, Stacey Brown reported. Bakersfield police confirmed that the initial report that an argument preceded the assault was incorrect. Witnesses said the suspect, Matthew Reed, 33, came up from behind Johnson, struck him in the neck and ran away, Sgt. Greg Terry said. Johnson, the father of four children, is at San Joaquin Hospital. He is in critical condition, nurses said. Brown said the family would be making arrangements to donate his heart if he should die. &ldquo;He has a good heart,&rdquo; she said. Police arrested Reed on suspicion of felony battery in the Saturday incident at the Festival of Beers in Stramler Park. Reed has since posted $25,000 bail and has been released from jail. If Johnson dies, the charges against Reed could be increased, police said. The two men had a longstanding feud over a guitar, Brown said. But Johnson wouldn&rsquo;t fight Reed because Reed has a bad heart and Johnson didn&rsquo;t want to cause any serious problems, Brown said. Johnson, who was born in Los Angeles and attended South High School after coming to Bakersfield in 1989, &ldquo;was very fun loving and talkative,&rdquo; his sister said. &ldquo;You automatically liked him,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;He loved to go to car shows and he loved tattoos,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;He was full of tattoos.&rdquo; Brown said her son loved his uncle and is devastated by his injury. She quoted her son as saying, &ldquo;I want him to wake up and come over and fix my car.&rdquo; Johnson is the father of two boys and two girls, ranging from a baby to grade-school age, she said. The three older children are staying with an aunt, and the baby is staying with her mother, Brown said. He was not employed at the time of the incident, Brown said. &nbsp; it is unfathomable to me how one could have 4 kids, be unemployed, and yet be able to fork out 40 bucks to go drink beer, while your 4 responsibilities are somewhere else believe me, i feel bad for the family, especially the kids, but come on...a little personal responsibility,something this community has seemed to lack in the last few years, would have went a long way, and maybe even stopped this attack en-us <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-size: small">This has nothing to do with him not having a job. He could have just been laid off last week. He could have been disabled. He could have been collecting unemployment for a while. His friends&nbsp;could have&nbsp;paid his way in. He could have&nbsp;been wealthy. How do we know? This is about a drunk guy sucker punching him and he is about to lose his life over stupidity. That is the bottom line.......</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Why do the people of Kern County continue to bash victims. So if I get killed ..I feel sorry for Timec's children but she was nasty to people on the blogs so she deserved to die.....haha...NOT!</span></span></p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231162 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231162 <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-size: small">This has nothing to do with him not having a job. He could have just been laid off last week. He could have been disabled. He could have been collecting unemployment for a while. His friends&nbsp;could have&nbsp;paid his way in. He could have&nbsp;been wealthy. How do we know? This is about a drunk guy sucker punching him and he is about to lose his life over stupidity. That is the bottom line.......</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Why do the people of Kern County continue to bash victims. So if I get killed ..I feel sorry for Timec's children but she was nasty to people on the blogs so she deserved to die.....haha...NOT!</span></span></p> <p><i><font color="#ff0000">...a little personal responsibility,something this community has seemed to lack in the last few years, would have went a long way, and maybe even stopped this attack</font></i></p> <p>Refusing to&nbsp;take personal responsibility is not&nbsp;limited to&nbsp;Bakersfield; it is&nbsp;a problem that has spread nationwide. No one is at fault for anything; Bush is to blame, or Arnold, or Nancy Pelosi.&nbsp;Just the other day some character named Joe Baca lashed out at the Democrat-controlled congress for not&nbsp;throwing their chance of&nbsp;keeping control&nbsp;of&nbsp;both houses into the dumpster by&nbsp;kowtowing to illegal aliens, claiming that &quot;Jesus was an immingant&quot; (No, he wasn't. He was an itinerant preacher whose homeland as well as the surrounding countries&nbsp;was governed by the Romans).</p> <p>This Johnson character &quot;loved tattoos.&quot; How many times did he take bread out of his kids' mouths to get another tattoo? Pardon me all to hell, but this guy's imminent death doesn't exactly sound like any big loss.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231165 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231165 <p><i><font color="#ff0000">...a little personal responsibility,something this community has seemed to lack in the last few years, would have went a long way, and maybe even stopped this attack</font></i></p> <p>Refusing to&nbsp;take personal responsibility is not&nbsp;limited to&nbsp;Bakersfield; it is&nbsp;a problem that has spread nationwide. No one is at fault for anything; Bush is to blame, or Arnold, or Nancy Pelosi.&nbsp;Just the other day some character named Joe Baca lashed out at the Democrat-controlled congress for not&nbsp;throwing their chance of&nbsp;keeping control&nbsp;of&nbsp;both houses into the dumpster by&nbsp;kowtowing to illegal aliens, claiming that &quot;Jesus was an immingant&quot; (No, he wasn't. He was an itinerant preacher whose homeland as well as the surrounding countries&nbsp;was governed by the Romans).</p> <p>This Johnson character &quot;loved tattoos.&quot; How many times did he take bread out of his kids' mouths to get another tattoo? Pardon me all to hell, but this guy's imminent death doesn't exactly sound like any big loss.</p> <p>of course not john, he was not related to you so you dont care, he got his tattoo's when he was young, so john when your family</p> <p>has a accident or someone kills a person you care for please dont cry just bury them</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231179 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231179 <p>of course not john, he was not related to you so you dont care, he got his tattoo's when he was young, so john when your family</p> <p>has a accident or someone kills a person you care for please dont cry just bury them</p> <p>I love the learem startup video, it is true Bakersfield, I wish I had used it first. </p> <p>It looks like Obama on the campaign trail, but than they all look alike, right?</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231190 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231190 <p>I love the learem startup video, it is true Bakersfield, I wish I had used it first. </p> <p>It looks like Obama on the campaign trail, but than they all look alike, right?</p> <p><i>has a accident or someone kills a person you care for please dont cry just bury them</i></p> <p>No one has killed a member of my family for&nbsp;over 100 years. (Nice try)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231198 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231198 <p><i>has a accident or someone kills a person you care for please dont cry just bury them</i></p> <p>No one has killed a member of my family for&nbsp;over 100 years. (Nice try)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>...so I guess your good for the next 100...</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231205 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231205 <p>...so I guess your good for the next 100...</p> <p>Unemployed, with numerous kids? And soon finning to die? Sounds just like Leon Anderson Jr. 3 months ago...</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231211 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231211 <p>Unemployed, with numerous kids? And soon finning to die? Sounds just like Leon Anderson Jr. 3 months ago...</p> <p>Leon, any Black in the hood for that matter! Life is cheap in Bakersfield.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231219 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231219 <p>Leon, any Black in the hood for that matter! Life is cheap in Bakersfield.</p> <p>so no one has been killed in a accident or been killed by cancer how nice for you john</p> <p>so the men and women who die in Iraq do they deserve to die, their life means nothing to me</p> <p>it means something to thier families, but not to you either or me,,, most of them have come from the</p> <p>hood, i believe most of common soldiers have white asian black hispanic</p> <p>the common soldiers come from poor neighborhoods, the rich send their kids some where else</p> <p>or i might be wrong,,,, compassion is what we need in Kern County,,</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231240 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231240 <p>so no one has been killed in a accident or been killed by cancer how nice for you john</p> <p>so the men and women who die in Iraq do they deserve to die, their life means nothing to me</p> <p>it means something to thier families, but not to you either or me,,, most of them have come from the</p> <p>hood, i believe most of common soldiers have white asian black hispanic</p> <p>the common soldiers come from poor neighborhoods, the rich send their kids some where else</p> <p>or i might be wrong,,,, compassion is what we need in Kern County,,</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I think you might want to know a little bit more about the man before you make the inuendo that he had it coming learnem.</p> <p>As timec rightly points out, maybe he got layed off just recently.</p> <p>Welcome back Panfilo!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231257 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231257 <p>I think you might want to know a little bit more about the man before you make the inuendo that he had it coming learnem.</p> <p>As timec rightly points out, maybe he got layed off just recently.</p> <p>Welcome back Panfilo!</p> <p>True, Bartley. When I was at Fresno State, there was a frat house across the street from my apartment complex, and there was one guy who would sit on the roof with a large glass full of something and yell &quot;Tonka!&quot; at me when I'd leave for class in my Toyota truck. I don't know what kind of grades he got, though.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231431 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231431 <p>True, Bartley. When I was at Fresno State, there was a frat house across the street from my apartment complex, and there was one guy who would sit on the roof with a large glass full of something and yell &quot;Tonka!&quot; at me when I'd leave for class in my Toyota truck. I don't know what kind of grades he got, though.</p> <p>Hmmmmm - let's see</p> <p>Kevin Johnson had children, tattoos&nbsp; -&nbsp; no arrest record though</p> <p>Matthew Scott Reed has children, tattoos&nbsp; - and -&nbsp; my, my just look at that record.&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_def_results.asp">http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_def_results.asp</a></p> <p>So learnem, you think anyone that is unemployed should not attend the Festival of Beers?&nbsp; Is that your point?&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231771 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231771 <p>Hmmmmm - let's see</p> <p>Kevin Johnson had children, tattoos&nbsp; -&nbsp; no arrest record though</p> <p>Matthew Scott Reed has children, tattoos&nbsp; - and -&nbsp; my, my just look at that record.&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_def_results.asp">http://www.co.kern.ca.us/courts/crimcal/crim_index_case_def_results.asp</a></p> <p>So learnem, you think anyone that is unemployed should not attend the Festival of Beers?&nbsp; Is that your point?&nbsp;</p> <p>panfildo, errrrrr trubluwhoknew....what ever you go by.....that is my nephew&nbsp; in that video..yes, i am black...get over it .&nbsp; you are racist yourself in thinking that all people of dark skin color are VICTIMS of oppression from the white man.&nbsp; once you get over that and accept it, then life will be good, and you will find something better to do than BITCH about how your life sucks because what other people do.........but you must like that retirement check you get for basically being a kick stand for a shovel for 20+ years huh???</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231773 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231773 <p>panfildo, errrrrr trubluwhoknew....what ever you go by.....that is my nephew&nbsp; in that video..yes, i am black...get over it .&nbsp; you are racist yourself in thinking that all people of dark skin color are VICTIMS of oppression from the white man.&nbsp; once you get over that and accept it, then life will be good, and you will find something better to do than BITCH about how your life sucks because what other people do.........but you must like that retirement check you get for basically being a kick stand for a shovel for 20+ years huh???</p> <p>no lucy....anyone who has 4 children (i wonder if any of them were on AFDC) and no job has no business, in today's society, shelling out 45 bucks to drink beer for 4-5 hours.&nbsp;&nbsp; seems like there are better things that 45 dollars could have gone towards...like food, clothes, RENT, gas...shal i go on???</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231776 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231776 <p>no lucy....anyone who has 4 children (i wonder if any of them were on AFDC) and no job has no business, in today's society, shelling out 45 bucks to drink beer for 4-5 hours.&nbsp;&nbsp; seems like there are better things that 45 dollars could have gone towards...like food, clothes, RENT, gas...shal i go on???</p> <p>Lucy</p> <p>Assault, DUI, Drunk and Disorderly, Narcotics, vandalism.&nbsp; All this started when he was 18.&nbsp;</p> <p>He was an accident waiting to happen.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231785 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231785 <p>Lucy</p> <p>Assault, DUI, Drunk and Disorderly, Narcotics, vandalism.&nbsp; All this started when he was 18.&nbsp;</p> <p>He was an accident waiting to happen.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>learnem&nbsp; - excuuuse me ???</p> <p>I was being facetious about what's your point.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's obvious you think you should be able to tell other people how to live their lives when you have absolutely NO CLUE&nbsp;what&nbsp;the circumstances are.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who are you to tell people what they have &quot;no business&quot; doing?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maybe he is independently wealthy.&nbsp; You have no way of knowing .&nbsp;&nbsp;Get over yourself.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231799 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231799 <p>learnem&nbsp; - excuuuse me ???</p> <p>I was being facetious about what's your point.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's obvious you think you should be able to tell other people how to live their lives when you have absolutely NO CLUE&nbsp;what&nbsp;the circumstances are.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who are you to tell people what they have &quot;no business&quot; doing?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maybe he is independently wealthy.&nbsp; You have no way of knowing .&nbsp;&nbsp;Get over yourself.</p> <p>Audrey</p> <p>Unfortunately someone else paid for it with their life.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231801 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231801 <p>Audrey</p> <p>Unfortunately someone else paid for it with their life.</p> <p>It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the path he was on.&nbsp;&nbsp; He's had 16 years to change.&nbsp; Too bad he didn't make it.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231803 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231803 <p>It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the path he was on.&nbsp;&nbsp; He's had 16 years to change.&nbsp; Too bad he didn't make it.</p> <p>Check out the latest update.&nbsp; Matt Reed loved his &quot;really good friend&quot; (that he killed)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AND</p> <p>just &quot;gave his life to&nbsp;GOD on Easter&quot;&nbsp;!!!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (yah, that's what they all say)</p> <p><a href="http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/431678.html">http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/431678.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231827 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231827 <p>Check out the latest update.&nbsp; Matt Reed loved his &quot;really good friend&quot; (that he killed)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AND</p> <p>just &quot;gave his life to&nbsp;GOD on Easter&quot;&nbsp;!!!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (yah, that's what they all say)</p> <p><a href="http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/431678.html">http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/431678.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>He's already starting the &quot;I turned my life around&quot; defense.&nbsp; Excuse me while I upchuck.</p> <p>He should do himself a favor and shut up.&nbsp;&nbsp; (sorry Steve).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231832 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231832 <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>He's already starting the &quot;I turned my life around&quot; defense.&nbsp; Excuse me while I upchuck.</p> <p>He should do himself a favor and shut up.&nbsp;&nbsp; (sorry Steve).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Everyone knows, the first thing you do to turn your ife around is attend the Festival of Beers...............</p> <p>(getting FUBAR therein and settling up old&nbsp; &quot;guitar scores&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;are just&nbsp; bonus features)</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231835 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_231835 <p>Everyone knows, the first thing you do to turn your ife around is attend the Festival of Beers...............</p> <p>(getting FUBAR therein and settling up old&nbsp; &quot;guitar scores&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;are just&nbsp; bonus features)</p> <p>I don't even know why I' going to respond...but Matt had started going to church before this happend for the first time in his life...My kids asked me 2 wks. ago to get them bibles because they were going to church with their DAD. &nbsp;</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232141 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232141 <p>I don't even know why I' going to respond...but Matt had started going to church before this happend for the first time in his life...My kids asked me 2 wks. ago to get them bibles because they were going to church with their DAD. &nbsp;</p> <p>yes lucy i do think taxpayers should be able to tell&nbsp; detriments to society what to do to improve our society...after all society is on OUR dime, isnt it???</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232542 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232542 <p>yes lucy i do think taxpayers should be able to tell&nbsp; detriments to society what to do to improve our society...after all society is on OUR dime, isnt it???</p> <p>Senseless, well at least now you can take them to church.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232547 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/learnem/25733/#c_232547 <p>Senseless, well at least now you can take them to church.</p>