CANOGA PARK : Man Sentenced for Stealing Ostriches

A Sunland man who admitted to stealing seven ostriches from a Canoga Park hatchery has been sentenced to three years probation and 60 days Caltrans service after pleading guilty to one count each of burglary and grand theft.

San Fernando Municipal Judge Juelann Cathey sentenced Scott Daniel Mitchell Friday.

Mitchell, 29, was accused of stealing from his former employer, Multi Industries, a company that incubates and hatches ostrich eggs imported from Namibia.

Mitchell took four of the chicks while he was employed at the hatchery and later broke into the company and took three more.

The hatchery reported the chicks missing July 7, the same day Mitchell was fired for not keeping proper records on the birds, according to police.

All seven birds have been recovered, including three from a La Crescenta man who bought the birds from Mitchell for $1,000 and then turned them in after seeing news reports about the case. Cathey ordered Mitchell to repay the $1,000.

Linda Greenberg, the deputy district attorney assigned to the case, was disappointed in the sentence.

“I felt it was a case that deserved substantial jail time,” Greenberg said Monday, noting that the birds are worth more than $40,000 and that they were under quarantine when they were stolen.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture requires ostriches be quarantined for 30 days to ensure that they are free of Newcastle disease, which can halt egg production in commercial poultry.

Instead of the community paying to keep Mitchell in jail, Cathey said she wanted Mitchell to pay the community by cleaning graffiti and roads for Caltrans. The man who unwittingly bought the stolen ostriches should be reimbursed, she emphasized.