Man Held in Alleged Avocado Rustling
An Oxnard man with an alleged hankering for avocados has wound up in Ventura County Jail.
Simon Alfonso Valdez was booked on suspicion of grand theft of avocados after a Santa Paula farmer Tuesday discovered the suspect in his orchard with picking equipment and 524 pounds of the fruit arranged in stacks, sheriff’s deputies said.
Valdez, 23, was arrested by deputies after the farmer’s dog chased him up a tree in the orchard on Cummings Road.
Valdez is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
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