Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Takers of $45,000 Trailer Yield to Sweet Temptation

The culprits who stole a $45,000 tractor-trailer that had been detached from the cab of a big rig proved that they are not above smaller temptations as well by grabbing a handful of snack food worth about $5 from another trailer parked nearby.

The thieves broke into a locked trailer containing about 20,000 pounds of fruit roll-ups, but apparently didn’t think the entire cargo was valuable enough to steal, authorities said. Instead, the suspects grabbed a few snacks and made off with the other trailer, apparently without looking inside.

But they may have been better off stealing the fruit roll-ups. At least, that’s what Robert Schmache, the driver of the missing trailer, believes. He said his cargo, 44,000 pounds of steel wire, has no practical street value.

“When they open the trailer, the joke’s going to be on them because they won’t be able to do anything with it,” he said.

Schmache said he left his trailer at the intersection of The Old Road and Sedonia Lane, a location he has used without incident for the last five years, at about 4 p.m. Friday before going to his Val Verde home. His father, also named Robert, left the other trailer nearby about the same time.

He said the thefts were discovered at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The 53-foot trailer was worth $45,000, and the rolls of steel wire inside about $35,000.

The trailer containing the wire is still missing, authorities said.