CAMARILLO : 2 Men Held in Theft From Water District

Summoned by a silent alarm to the Camarillo offices of the Pleasant Valley County Water District, deputies arrested two men in connection with a stash of equipment worth about $5,000 that had been stacked outside a broken door, authorities said Monday.

William Knorr, 31, of Ventura and Robert Lacroix, 33, a transient, were arrested on suspicion of burglary, auto theft and drug possession, Sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Lazz said.

The pair had cut through a security fence and used tools taken from the water district to force open a heavy fire door to gain access to the offices at 154 S. Las Posas Road, Lazz said.

When deputies arrived at 10 p.m. Saturday, they found Knorr sitting in the cab of a pickup outside the fence. The deputies arrested Lacroix inside the fence and recovered a district camera in his back pocket, the sergeant said.

Among the items stacked outside the offices were a portable generator and pump, and a chain saw. “What they were targeting are things that can be easily turned into money,” said district general manager LeRoy Miller.