Thieves take grapes from vineyard near Exeter

A crew of thieves swiped an estimated $10,000 worth of grapes from a farm east of Visalia by harvesting them in the middle of the night when no one was around, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department said.

The thieves made off with about 500 boxes weighing 20 to 24 pounds each. That’s 10,000 to 12,000 pounds.

“That’s a lot of grapes,” said California Fresh Fruit League president Barry Bedwell.

The theft forced farmer Paul Bedrosian to hire a security guard to watch the property at Avenue 280 and Road 176 near Exeter until harvest ends.

“I haven’t seen it this bad,” said Bedrosian, co-owner of National Raisin Co. of Fowler. “These are $20 a box. That’s $10,000 they took out of there.”

Theft of grapes by cutting them off the vine happens once a year or more, Bedrosian said. But, Bedwell said, usually not tons of grapes at once.

“I’ve caught them before,” Bedrosian said. “It happened on Labor Day, in the early morning, when they didn’t think anyone would be there. They took off running.”

The stolen grapes will probably turn up at flea markets, said Tulare County sheriff’s Lt. Joe Campos, who oversees the agricultural crimes unit.

Deputies will visit flea markets as part of their investigation, but it’s hard to trace stolen grapes because “there’s no serial number,” Campos said.

The heist took place between 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

A work crew arrived at daybreak Thursday, saw something was amiss and the foreman called the Sheriff’s Department.

“A lot of the grapes were left on the ground,” Campos said.

It appears that a crew of five or more people went to the center of the vineyard where they couldn’t been seen and spent a couple of hours harvesting grapes, he said.

They were probably using headlamps or flashlights, and must have had a truck to haul that many boxes, Campos said.

Grape harvest will continue for at least three more weeks and the thieves could hit another vineyard, Campos said.

Most night work on farms involves irrigation, pesticide application and dairies, so anyone who sees lights at night in a vineyard or orchard should call the Sheriff’s Department, he said.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Thieves take grapes from vineyard near Exeter."