On behalf of Sheriff Brooks, welcome to our April 2010 Farm Watch Newsletter.
Heard a Siren?
Do you want to see where the police action is? Hey Farm Watch, now you don't have to wait for the news on television!
Fire up that Blackberry, I-Phone or computer and tune it into WWW.VCSD.org
Sheriff Brooks has just launched one of the most cutting edge interactive Police websites in California. Our home web page now has a listing of the calls your deputies are on. You can instantly see what Sheriff Action is happening in your area. This is high-tech automatic web-publishing of our 911 calls as they happen.
Note: There is a small time delay in the 911 call-for-service postings for security reasons to make sure we don't compromise safety for our citizens or officers.
Santa Rosa Valley:
Nearly 3 tons of fertilizer was stolen last week in Santa Rosa Valley. The suspects stole pallets of Peters 15-3-25 fertilizer. Contact Detective Ray Dominguez if you have any tips. Ray.dominguez@ventura.org
Be on the Look Out:
Once again, some scrap metal thieves working the Santa Clara River Valley area. The suspects are driving a white Ford pickup with a red camper shell. If confronted, they will tell farm workers that they have permission. Their story falls apart quick when questioned about farm ownership etc... Lets keep this type of theft in check.
Trash Dump:
Deputies have been called out to a rash of roadside and farm dumping. Unknown suspects are wholesale dumping construction adn residential debris on our remote roadsides such as Balcom, Guiberson and the Las Posas Valley. When you are driving in these areas and see a pickup truck filled with debris try to make a note of the vehicle description or license plate. Often times the illegal dumpers will wait for traffic to pass and then unload a truck load of garbage in seconds. Our partners in the County Roads Department and adjoining Ag owners need our help.
Citrus Theft:
Last week, farmers in the Grimes Canyon area interrupted a car load of citrus thieves . The suspects fled the area in a purple colored KIA. Remember a few months ago, Farm Watch members helped catch a group that was using small cars to do citrus and avocado thefts on a much larger scale. Keep an eye out for these culprits.
Phone Burglar:
Verizon has been plagued with burglary break-ins of their telephone switching boxes that you see on the sides of our rural roads. These are the 3 to 5 foot high metal boxes used to hold phone lines and switched for a large area. In the Bradley and Los Angeles Avenue-118 area, a suspect has been breaking into the boxes and cutting phone wires that disrupt many ranches and farms. It is a felony to get into these boxes and disrupt telephone service. Lets help out Verizon and keep our eyes open.
Car Jacking:
You may have read about this in the papers. Gerardo Sillas is a hard core Ventura County gang member. Last week, he had set up a roadblock trap for an unsuspecting rural motorist traveling along Bradley Road. Sillas laid out debris in the road so a motorist would stop to clear the way for travel.
It worked, and at about 6 A.M, a good Samaritan pulled over his car to clear the debris. Sillas jumped out of the bushes, armed with a gun and robbed the motorist, stealing his car. He fled towards Balcom.
The quick thinking victim called 911 and in minutes, a dragnet was set up with a Sheriff helicopter, K-9 and officers from many agencies. To make a long story short, Sillas shot a neighboring ranch dog that detected him trespassing and threatened a teen at gunpoint. A local Spanish speaking farm worker found him hiding in the bushes on a ranch.
He was quickly arrested and will be spending his time making license plates in Prison.
We mention the farm worker who called 911 because we caught him with the worker's help and want to keep encouraging you to educate your nursery, ranch and farm workers not to fear calling 911. We have Spanish speaking dispatchers at the ready to help.....
Berry Theft:
Well not exactly stealing berries. But worse, local berry farms have been hit real hard with car burglaries. Berry pickers have been getting their cars broken into along Etting, Nauman, Wooley and Rice Roads. These hard workers are victimized while their cars are parked along side the road during the work day. A suspect is smashing car windows and taking stereos out of the cars in broad daylight. Stay vigilant! Make sure you educate your farm workers to not leave valuables in the cars.
Makita Burglar:
A local rural property in the Tierra Rejada Valley just had their storage shed broken into. The suspect(s) cut the locks and forced their way into the Connex-Box and stole numerous Makita portable concrete cutting saws. The models are DAC7311. Keep an eye open for these on second-hand sales sites. You can email Detective Sergeant John Reilly with any tips. John.reilly@ventura.org
Hotwire:
Berry farms along Rose Avenue have had their storage sheds broken into and chemicals and fertilizer were taken. The suspects hot-wired a fork lift that was placed in front of the Connex-Box for security. The thieves took pallets of 20/20/20 Gromore.
We are seeing a surge in fertilizer thefts and bold Ag break-ins. It is important to place your Connex type storage boxes in secure areas, lighted when feasible and think how you can keep them from getting those doors open. If you park a tractor or truck in front of the doors at night, make sure they cant just put it in neutral and push it away.
Mexican Consulate:
We would like to welcome the Consul of Mexico, Rogelio Mejia to Farm Watch. The Consulate has jumped on board with Farm Watch to extend a helping hand with farm watch issues that may effect our nursery, farm and ranch workers. Consul Mejia is well respected in Ventura County and is a great addition to Farm Watch.
Grizzly Academy:
No don't worry...We are not re-introducing Grizzlies to Ventura County. Farm Watch and Ventura County Sheriff has partnered with the California National Guard to support the Grizzly Youth Academy. The U.S military has set up a high school at Camp San Luis Obispo for at-risk-teens. They select teens from our Ventura County area who are at-risk for gangs and crime.
Once selected, the teens from 16 to 18 years old start a 20 month program with a 5 month live-in school at the military base. This program is free of charge. The teens are counseled daily on self esteem, literacy and on how to break the gang ties that span generations within their families.
The Grizzly program reclaims lives that would be lost to a life of crime. The kids get their high school diploma in a healthy supportive environment.
We are using your deputies to help select teens from our areas. If your interested in the program check it out at www.ngycp.org
Disaster Training:
Cynthia Elliott is a Sheriff Emergency Services staff member.
Due to the recent earthquakes in Mexico, Haiti and Chile, she has prepared a review sheet to make sure you are ready for any disasters.
Remember, we live in what the experts call "ring of fire." This tectonic area of shifting continents and earth causes our frequent quakes. Cynthia and all the staff at Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services (O.E.S) want you to be ready.
Don't forget to register your cell phones and house phones in our reverse 911 system (www.vcsd.org). That way, we can call you when disasters and emergencies effect your farm or ranch communities. Encourage your workers to do the same. Attached is the PDF version of Cynthia's O.E.S tips.
Crime Map:
Be sure to open the attached Farm Watch map and Rural Crime stats in PDF. These crime stats cover the entire Ventura County Farming, Agricultural, Ranching, Nursery community.
Be Safe Farm Watch