VENTURA : Reward Given for Avocado Theft Tip
A Ventura County man who tipped sheriff’s deputies that thieves were stripping an avocado grove has received an $800 reward from the California Avocado Commission.
The man, who was not identified, called the Sheriff’s Department earlier this year to report that he saw two men illegally enter a Ventura avocado grove and begin loading fruit onto a truck.
When officers arrived, the suspects were arrested on suspicion of theft when they tried to leave the grove. Three hundred pounds of avocados were recovered and returned to the grove’s owner.
The men were subsequently convicted of stealing avocados, said Robert Verloop, Avocado Commission spokesman.
The reward program is part of the Avocado Commission’s drive to cut down on the theft of the fruit statewide, Verloop said. Increased reporting and vigilance by the public have reduced grove thefts in Ventura County during the past year, he said.
Since January, 1990, the commission has paid out $30,613 in rewards to 54 tipsters and theft witnesses throughout the avocado-producing areas of California. More than 33,000 pounds of avocados have been recovered, Verloop said.
The Santa Ana-based Avocado Commission’s primary function is to promote consumption of California-grown avocados.
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