DA Won't Seek Charges Against Community Recycling in Brothers' Deaths

The Bakersfield Californian

The Kern County District Attorney's office said Friday it will not pursue criminal charges against Community Recycling & Resource Recovery Inc. in connection with the October 2011 incident in which two brothers died at the company's facility outside Lamont.

District Attorney Lisa S. Green said in a statement it would be difficult "to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Community Recycling & Resource Recovery Inc. had the requisite level of knowledge about the dangerous conditions prior to the incident."

The decision has no impact on a pending action against the company by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and a private lawsuit brought by the family of the brothers.

Community Recycling processes green waste, food and produce waste, and other compostable materials into a finished compost product used on soil throughout Kern County and California.

Green's statement acknowledged the "tragic event," but added that "our ability to take action is limited by the confines of the evidence and the high burden of proof required in a criminal case."

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