FRESNO, CA – On October 2nd, a farmer found a Jack Rabbit almond harvester parked on his land that did not belong to him.
He made a report to detectives assigned to the Sheriff’s Agricultural Crimes Task Force. Detectives responded to the property located southwest of the city of Kerman.
They conducted a records check of the serial number on the harvester and determined it was reported stolen a couple weeks ago.
Detectives have since returned the $200,000 piece of equipment to its rightful owner.
This case continues a recent trend of stolen farm equipment turning up in the Kerman area. Detectives are asking members of the farming community to continue checking their personal inventory and report any equipment that might look out of place or is unknown to the area.
This is also a good time for farmers to make sure they have accurate records of serial numbers, VINs, PINs and owner-applied identification numbers on all of their agricultural equipment.
Providing this valuable information to detectives can speed up the investigation immensely.
If you have information about anything involving ag theft, please call the Fresno County Sheriff’s Agricultural Crimes Task Force at (559) 600-8150 or Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867, www.valleycrimestoppers.org
You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward
