The State - News from July 11, 1989

A former Bakersfield reserve policeman was formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his conviction in “The Corporation” murder case. A jury found Kenneth Eugene Mount guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Harry Banister, a Bakersfield businessman, whose body was found in an irrigation canal in January, 1987, with his throat slit and his hands bound behind his back. The same jurors recommended life in prison without parole for Mount instead of the death penalty. Defense attorney Stan Simrin advised the court that he will appeal, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Coffee expressed confidence that the verdict and sentence would be upheld. Prosecutors contended that Mount was part of a group of killers called “The Corporation.”