A man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of grand theft of fruit after a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputy found him stealing avocados from a Goleta ranch.
A deputy was patrolling the Goleta area when he noticed a vehicle stopped on the shoulder of the roadway on the 6900 block of Cathedral Oaks Road, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The deputy found 44-year-old Tim Rounds of Lompoc walking nearby, wearing a headlamp on his forehead, and holding a bucket of avocados, the department said.
The deputy also found a bag of methamphetamine on the dashboard of the vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
During a search of the vehicle, deputies also discovered a meth pipe and a trunk full of avocados.
They contacted the owner of the ranch and learned that Rounds did not have permission to harvest the avocados.
Deputies arrested Rounds on suspicion of grand theft of fruit (a felony) and two misdemeanor drug charges, the Sheriff’s Office said.
He was booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail and released without bail in compliance with the local court’s extension of Emergency Rule 4.
The avocados were photographed and returned to the ranch owner.