Welcome to our newest members. We are now joined by the S.C.E. They are vital Farm Watch eyes, as their service crews are constantly traveling our rural areas and can bring great tips for rural crime prevention and apprehension.
Farm Watch would like to thank Carol McCrone of Monterey County Sheriff's Department. We are also now linked via Farm Watch to Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Departments. She made that link happen. Carol will keep us apprised of rural farm and ranch crime trends in our neighbor counties to the north.
Avocado Theft:
Sheriff Brooks has a zero tolerance policy on theft and the Agricultural crimes are no exception. We are happy to report that we just recently arrested Hildaldo Hermanlindo and Adrian Zavala for stealing about 228 avocados (115 lbs.) from a Santa Paula ranch. Both suspects were booked on charges of Grand theft 487(b)(1)(A) PC. This is a Farm Watch arrest. Our Farm Watch growers in the Santa Paula area have been active in prevention and reporting suspicious persons. They are responsible for this arrest.
In addition, we are using County and State ordinances to help us check for stolen agricultural commodities and search for thieves during picking seasons. Be patient if you are hauling a small quantity such as a bin or less and get asked by deputies about your proof of ownership documents. For avocados, proof is required with possession of 40 or more pounds. All other citrus is 100 pounds or more. The Agriculture Commissioner's Office can give more details of commodity documentation.
Gun Seizure:
As you may recall, we have been reporting thefts of guns from our farms and ranches during the Fall and Winter months. Deputies Beau Rodriguez and Chris Cadman were on the hunt for these Ag-crooks. On New Years Eve, the deputies conducted a probation search searching for stolen guns and arrested 30 year old Frank Arias (Santa Paula) and 18 year-old Rudy Damian Mora (Fillmore) each on 7 Felony gun, weapon and drug charges. Both were booked in the county jail on $50,000 bail.
They recovered one gun and one of which was stolen from a ranch in the Las Posas Valley. Chris and Beau did a great job. We can't hit crime fighting home runs like this without your help, keep those tips coming.
Graffiti on the Run:
On 01/10/2010, at about 1030 P.M, two Santa Paula young men ran from the farmer at SR-126 and Old Telegraph. The farmer later found several spray cans next to his hot house. He has been plagued with graffiti on his farm. The teens are parking nearly a half-mile away on county roads. If you see unattended vehicles parked on roadways at night give us a call to check it out 805-524-2233. Tell the dispatcher you are a Farm Watch member and we have had graffiti issues. We will send someone out. For the sake of your safety, don't start searching the fields or orchards yourself.
Scam Spam:
We are getting call after call from Farm Watch members who are detecting telephone and email scams. Luckily we have one another to educate with the latest scams. George Campbell wanted to share a recent call he received from a Canadian Fraud crew.
They were very persuasive, but George was too quick. The story continues, George received a call from his Grandson stating that he had been arrested in Canada for a car accident. He had to post bail or he would be placed in jail. Now George knew his grandson wasn't in Canada so he played along and brought us on board.
It seems the crooks even put a fictitious Canadian Royal Mounted Jailer on the line explaining to George about the situation. George was instructed by the crooks to wire the money through Wall Mart and they would pick it up in Canada and release his grandson. Well, they got tired of George and moved onto another unknown victim. We want to thank George for the help on fighting this scam and permission to share his story. George was an excellent detective.
Craigslist Crooks:
Folks, they are at it again. As you know, we cruise through Craigslist on a regular basis looking for stolen Ag-equipment. We just noticed a Kubota 4X4 UTV for sale for $2900. It was being sold out of Montana and listed in Ventura County-Craigs. It included free shipping. The same Farm U.T.V normally sells for $11,000+-
We used an alias in dealing with the suspects and they wanted us to wire the money through Pay Pal and Ebay. Then, after we would send a $500 good faith wired deposit, they would overnight the title to the farm equipment and ship the following day. The only problem was, as suspected and after a background check we found the wire transfer was really going to land offshore in the British Virgin Islands. These crooks are all over Craigslist.
Remember the Farm Watch rule. Know who you are dealing with and if it smells to good to be true it is!
Bird fighting:
Detective Ray Domiguez reports a recent arrests sweep where his Major Crimes and Ag Crime Team examined approximately 470 fighting birds in the Las Posas Valley. Over 260 fighting birds were humanely euthanized. Approximately 90 fighting birds were seized as evidence. During the course of the Search Warrant, 8 suspects were arrested on charges related to animal cruelty/cockfighting. Based on the findings during the searches, the investigation will continue and additional arrests are likely.
Oilfield Theft:
Recycle theft has been nil lately. Unfortunately, last week, suspects broke into an oilfield yard on South Mountain Oil Fields and stole 500 pounds of electric cable. Our detectives are searching the recycle centers in Ventura and Los Angels Counties. Keep your eyes open and call 805-524-2233 with any tips.
Be safe Farm Watch!
