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Charges added in farm thefts
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More from CourtsThree suspects arrested in May for allegedly stealing brass valves from irrigation pipes and copper wire from Ventura County farms are facing additional felony charges, sheriff's officials said Monday.
Jorge Lara Gutierrez, 25, and Ulises Carranza, 18, both of Oxnard, and a 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released because he is a minor, were arrested in May in connection with agricultural copper and brass thefts over a six-month period in Camarillo and surrounding areas.
Sheriff's Detective Ray Dominguez said Monday that police executed a search warrant Thursday in connection with the investigation. It resulted in additional felony charges against Gutierrez and Carranza, and charges against his brother Raul Carranza, Dominguez said.
The search at four Oxnard residences turned up stolen property such as hand tools, power tools, water pumps and large rolls of drip tape used to irrigate agricultural fields, the detective said. He said felony charges for theft and burglary are pending against the trio.
Ulises Carranza was charged with possessing a pipe to smoke drugs and possessing a high-capacity firearm magazine, Dominguez said. He said a high-capacity magazine, which can be legally used by police and the military, packs more bullet rounds.
Authorities said they believe that the suspects are responsible for numerous thefts involving agricultural irrigation valves, copper wires and drip tape.
The sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau said anyone who has been the victim of a similar crime over the past year should call 477-7000.
After their arrests in May, Gutierrez was released on bail and Ulises Carranza was released on his own recognizance, the detective said.
— Staff writer Talia Sampson contributed to this report.
Posted by StayInSchool on July 1, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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