Thieves make hay during the dark

Task force makes arrests at truck-driving school

Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press

April 4, 2008

Deputies in two of California 's largest alfalfa-producing counties say hay theft has escalated in the past month as supplies have become tight.

"We were getting reports of seven to 10 bales taken from a stack to squeeze loads missing from a field," said Sgt. Walt Reed of Kern County Rural Crime Taskforce. "It was out of control for a while there."

One of the more high-profile cases involved a truck driving school. Reed said during the day, the truck would be seen on rural roads south of Bakersfield ostensibly being used for driving lessons. At night, Reed said, the truck would be used to haul hay stolen from nearby alfalfa fields. The thieves were also using stolen poly tanks to steal diesel from farm tanks.

Reed said two men were arrested and charged with grand theft after an irrigator in the Mettler area saw the truck parked along the road and notified deputies. Reed said an investigation led them to the truck-driving school and the vehicles owned by the men.

Deputies used surveillance to make an arrest for hay theft in the Buttonwillow area and also nabbed a buyer for possession of stolen property. Reed said a thief was stealing pickup loads of hay and selling it to local horse owners.

"When they're selling it for $90 a ton, you should know it's stolen," said Reed. "We have hay thefts every year, but this is worse because of the high price of hay."

Metal theft is still consuming about 75 percent of the taskforce's time, Reed said, and fuel theft is gaining. Large stacks of hay in isolated areas are prime targets, he said.

In Tulare County in March, rural crime detectives recovered a stolen truck and trailer that was loaded with stolen hay - until part of the load fell off while the thieves were driving away and they abandoned the whole project.

Detective Dale Cullum said the hay and truck were stolen from a Tipton-area dairy and the truck was involved in more than one hay theft.

Higher priced lemons have also become prized by thieves. One of the largest lemon thefts in the county was reported March 25. The Tulare County Sheriff's Department reported 10 bins of lemons valued at $4,000 were stolen from the Ivanhoe area.

Sheriff's deputies made eight arrests in Tulare County during the last week of March for metal theft. The alleged thieves were identified at metal recycling centers and linked to the crime scene with shoe and tire tracks, Cullum said.

The big target for thieves is still copper wire from agriculture irrigation pumps, Cullen said. Thieves will back a vehicle up to a pump, hook up to the wire and pull up thousands of feet at a time, he said. One of the alleged thieves who were arrested had a van full of radiators he was attempting to sell at a recycling center. Cullum said catalytic converters and batteries are also popular items because of soaring metal prices.

Statewide legislation aimed at recycling companies has been revived. Republican Assemblyman Tom Berryhill's bill is under reconsideration and will be heard in committee in May said his chief of staff, Laura Ortega.

Berryhill said lobbyists for the recycling industry added amendments that watered down the bill to the point it was worse than no legislation.

Berryhill is also urging cities and counties to consider drafting a model ordinance that is available on the California Farm Bureau Federation website.

Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.

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