Over 400 ranchers, farmers, nurseries, packing/supply houses and oil field sites all watching out for one another...
Crooks strike at all Hours:
8 P.M Attempt Theft of Avocados - Foothill Rd @ N. Kimball Rd, Ventura - The foreman at the ranch reported that he found stacks of avocados freshly picked in piles, clearly ready for someone to come back and pick up. Deputies responded and investigated. Major Crimes Detective Ray Dominguez was notified of the attempt theft and we sent out our C.S.I to process the scene for evidence.
C.S.I is more than Television Show:
Sheriff Brooks and all of us at the Sheriff’s Department are real proud of our C.S.I Unit. They are highly skilled at solving the nearly unsolvable, from homicides to Ag-Theft. C.S.I responds to crime scenes 24 hours a day. Your responding deputies are trained to process the scenes for fingerprints, tire tracks and such and in addition we bring out C.S.I when we have DNA evidence (yes.. even in Ag Theft), remnant blood trails from crooks and other fragile evidence. These “behind-the-scenes” Sheriff’s Scientist have solved many rural crimes.
The Orange Theft Suspect Caught:
On 01/27/2010, Deputy Gabe Gonzales was driving on Howe Road and observed a suspicious van parked on along the roadway. Gabe made a u-turn and got out of his police car to investigate the van. Gabe caught 45 year-old Brian Krasnoff as he stumbled out of the orange orchards on the south side of the road. During his investigation, Gabe found all the stolen fruit. Brian Krasnoff was arrested for 484(a) PC - Petty Theft.
Arrest of the Day…
Santa Paula Police helps wash out Rural Graffiti:
On January 31st. Santa Paula Officer Michael Hoppin was on street patrol near Faulkner Road. Michael observed four suspicious persons at the overpass. If there is one thing Michael, and all cops for that matter hate, are graffiti vandals. They are criminals plain and simple.
Officer Hoppin is one fast cop and was able to catch Rene Mariscal, Saul Torrez, Martin Torres and Jose Lira (all 20+ year old adults). He arrested them on Felony Conspiracy charges and graffiti vandalism. All four of these crooks were then hosted by the Sheriff’s Department for a stint as lodgers in the main jail. I let you know if we hear that they end up as jail workers on the paint crew.
A big thanks to Officer Hoppin!
Farm Watch Member nabs the bad guys:
Noon Time – Weekend- Fillmore - Avocado and Produce Theft - W. Guiberson Rd. at Chambersburg Rd. Santa Clara River Valley
A ranch hand (Farm Watch Member) witnessed four subjects in the process of stealing avocados. He called both, 911 and my cell phone. He gave a perfect description of the thieves. 911 Dispatchers immediately sent deputies to the farm area and a police dragnet was set up in the Valley.
Deputy Erica Ragsdale and her beat partners were able to locate and stop the suspects. Had the Farm Watch member not called, theses bad guys simply would have slipped away. They were miles from the original crime scene. They were from Glendale and had substantial quantities of various fruits and vegetables in the trunk of the car. I looked at the trunk load, and it was packed to the gills.
They claimed to have had permission to take the produce from local ranch owners; however, they could not provide the names and contact information for the landowners that supposedly granted them permission.
Guess What? Wrong answer…. You see, Erica knows nearly all the farmers and ranchers in the area and was able to identify the owner of the avocado ranch. Erica and her partners ruined the crooks day and arrested all four for theft of produce.
As a side note: We are real proud of Erica. In 2009, she is listed in the top six cops for the entire Department on proactive quantity of arrests. If you want to giver her a “shout out”, you can email her at Erica.ragsdale@ventura.org
Farm Watch Logo:
The Department would like to thank Veronica Morris of Bardsdale for her design of the Farm Watch logo. You will see it on our attached reports. Veronica is an original Farm Watch member and has designed many of your produce packing labels. Thanks again Veronica.
Field Worker Burglaries:
Camarillo Detective Joe Devorick reports an increase of burglaries to field worker’s cars. As we all know, many workers park their cars along the farm roads. Some opportunistic crooks have been hitting the cars along Wood Road in the Oxnard Plains. Make sure you tell your workers about these crimes. Tell them to keep their personal property locked inside the trunks. Farm Workers can call 911 from their cell phones and report suspicious persons casing out cars during picking season.
Our 911 dispatchers are ready to handle their calls in both Spanish and English. Many field workers may be hesitant to call law enforcement. Help educate them. Make sure they know we are here to help. Remember: Crooks know no boundaries and we need to stick together.
Fertilizer Stolen:
A farm on Central Avenue in the Oxnard Plains just had 12 lbs if Elevate Fungicide & 40 lbs of Thiram Fungicide stolen.
Las Posas Valley:
A local nursery just had 50 flats of "Mondo Grass" stolen during the night from a nursery on LA Ave. Keep your eyes out for persons pawning cheap fertilizer or products. Sergeant Will Hammer also reports that some crooks have done two separate Avocado thefts off of Los Angeles Avenue just West of the City of Moorpark.
Farm Vehicle Theft:
A local row crop farm on the 6000 block of North Rose Avenue, had unknown suspects cut the lock on the front gate at the farm. The suspect(s) cut a hole in the storage facility and stole several containers of pesticides. The suspect(s) also stole a Jeep pickup truck from the location. Ray Dominguez has attached a photo and wanted poster. If you have any information or tips for this crime, email Sergeant Darrell Erickson at Darrell.erickson@ventura.org
Piru Rural Cell Site:
Richard Jackson advises us that A.T.T is still planning on putting up a new cell site in Piru. This will really help out all of us at Farm Watch. Richard said that it is going through the planning process at this time.
Hall Road:
A local Farm Watch Member reported finding his avocados picked and stacked in the middle of his orchard row ready to be picked up by would be thieves. They had torn the avocados right off the branches and were interrupted by the ranch foreman. We haven’t identified any suspects at this time.
New Ag-Law Changes:
Ray Dominguez reports that effective January 25, 2010, Penal Code Section 487(b)(1)(A) was amended and now establishes that a value of fruit exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in wholesale value must be met for a felony violation. This won’t affect you as a farmer and is simply a technicality for us.
Be safe Farm Watch,
Tim Hagel
