Police End 12-Hour Hostage Standoff in Bakersfield; Suspect Identified as Registered Sex Offender A 12-hour hostage standoff in Bakersfield,California, ended with police breaching a building where a suspect with a reported bomb had held ten individuals captive. The suspect, identified as Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, is a rEgistered sex offender with a prior criminal record. All hostages were released unharmed. FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Sacramento field office Sid Patel identified 41-year-aged Anthony Scott Searles-Harris as the suspect who ended an hourslong standoff. Patel said Searles-Harris had a criminal record and was no stranger to law enforcement and a registered sex offender. Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 but was dishonorably discharged for being absent without leave. The hostage situation had initially been reported at a JPMorgan Chase bank branch in Bakersfield, but Patel clarified that the scene was the office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.Chase Bank leases a first-floor space from the superintendent's office,which is located on the second floor. Patel said the 10 hostages were all employees of the superintendent's office and that five of them were tied up during the roughly 12-hour standoff with police. None of the hostages was said to have any injuries. The incident ignited Tuesday afternoon when Searles-Harris barricaded himself inside the building,reportedly with a bomb strapped to his body.Officials said officers arrived to discover a man who had barricaded himself in the building with several community members, but some people were able to escape. Police responded to reports of a bomb threat Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by SWAT teams, hostage negotiators, and a bomb squad. The FBI's Sacramento field office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives's San Francisco field office also sent resources to assist local law enforcement with the situation.Two hostages were released Tuesday evening after Searles-Harris had reportedly negotiated with cops. Later attempts to free more hostages did not prove successful, prompting police to breach the building. A large area of downtown Bakersfield was closed during the incident,and cops noted Wednesday that residents should expect road closures and deLays in the area untill Wednesday afternoon