WELCOME FARM WATCH READERS!

Agricultural Crimes Detective Ray Dominguez had the following update from his activities and investigations around Ventura County:

Here we go again…we’ve got a big holiday weekend just around the corner! With the Labor Day Weekend upon us, I want to remind everyone to please secure your equipment, materials, and anything of value associated with your home, farm or ranch. With many of you and your employees taking the weekend off to enjoy the holiday, this will inevitably provide opportunities for crooks to put in a little “Labor” of their own. Remember to keep valuable items out of sight and out of their minds.

A review of the latest reports indicates we have suffered a variety of losses including an old ATV from a ranch on Balcom Canyon Rd., the theft of a “Hogzilla” top grinder from the Somis area, a substantial theft of fertilizer in the Oxnard Plains, and vehicle burglaries at a ranch in Somis.

I want to comment on two of the thefts listed above. First the fertilizer theft, a victim farm in the Oxnard Plains area suffered the loss of an estimated 11 pallets worth of fertilizer they had planned to use in their strawberry growing operation (Refer to the attached flyer for further details). With berry growers prepping for the next round of plantings I have already seen thefts of fertilizer and drip tape being reported.

What concerns me is that often times these thefts are substantial in size and costly because of large orders that disappear soon after they get delivered. I hate to sound like a broken record, but please DO NOT LEAVE FERTILIZER OR OTHER PLANTING MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT LEFT UNATTENDED IN FIELDS…THEY WILL GET STOLEN! I have discussed this in the past, but some folks are not heeding my warning and continue to suffer losses. At minimum, assign someone to stand guard overnight until you can get the product spread out in the fields. It’s a whole lot cheaper to pay for a security guard than to take a big hit with chemicals and fertilizers being stolen.

The second case I want to discuss in further detail is the recent vehicle burglaries reported at another berry farm in Somis. This case involves suspect(s) preying on farm laborers that leave their valuables in plain sight inside their parked vehicles. Recently, suspects broke into two locked vehicles and stole purses from the passenger compartment of the vehicles. Please remind your employees to secure their vehicles and hide their valuables in areas out of sight like a trunk.

I know it can be difficult at times to recognize vehicles and persons that are out of place with so many workers coming and going, but these crooks stand out because of their clothing (not dressed in clothing appropriate or consistent with what your employees would wear) and the vehicle’s they use can be seen driving around (casing) the area before they drop someone off to go out on foot. Remind your employees to keep a watchful eye out for this type of activity and to report any suspicious subjects or vehicles loitering in the area to their supervisors. Remind them to note the suspects’ physical and clothing descriptions, a vehicle description, and license plate if possible. These crooks will go from one farm to another using the same routine to steal property from vehicles. If possible designate an area for employees to park and have someone patrol the area periodically to deter would be thieves.

I wish you all an enjoyable and hopefully crime free weekend. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or telephone at ray.dominguez@ventura.org or 805-384-4726. For in progress calls or to make an initial crime report please contact our Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at 654-9511.

The following advice is always wise if you suspect illegal activity on your property:

Call the Sheriff’s Office immediately at 911.
Be a good witness
Note suspect descriptions such as age, height, weight, facial hair, clothing, and shoe type.
If a vehicle is involved, obtain a license plate number and note vehicle color, body damage, bumper stickers, camper shell, after market tires and wheels, etc.
Provide the dispatcher with information about the time and last known direction of travel.
If you are not sure of how to address the problem or would like additional crime prevention tips please contact your local Sheriff’s Office substation or Detective Ray Dominguez directly at (805) 384-4726 or by email at ray.dominguez@ventura.org.

Contacts:

Camarillo Detective Mark Corriea, mark.corriea@ventura.org

Fillmore Detective John Fox john.fox@ventura.org

Ventura Detective Christine Rettura Christine.rettura@ventura.org

Agricultural Crimes Detective, Ray Dominguez at Ray.Dominguez@ventura.org

As always, we would like to thank Sheriff’s Crime Analyst Karen Brown and Det. Ray Dominguez, for this issue’s great crime and alert update.

Be alert and always safe!

Monica (797-6338)

Geoff Dean - Sheriff

John Crombach and Gary Pentis - Assistant Sheriffs