Runaway tractors damage thousands of dollars worth of crops

Fresno County Sheriff’s detectives are searching for the person or persons who stole two tractors west of Firebaugh and used them to destroy crops valued at thousands of dollars.

Deputies responded around 8 a.m. Sept. 16 to a farm near Brannon and Nees avenues where a New Holland tractor had been stolen. They determined the suspect had placed the tractor into “creeper mode” and then jumped out of the cab. Creeper mode allows the tractor to crawl at a slow speed, often when towing trailers with workers who are harvesting crops.

The unoccupied tractor went east through fields for about 6 miles before finally stopping in a dry canal near Nees and Jerrold avenues. The tractor plowed through several fields and destroyed tomatoes, cotton, asparagus, peppers and pistachio trees. The tractor was not damaged and was returned to its owner.

The same day around 10 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a stolen John Deere tractor at the corner of Fairfax and Nees avenues, about two miles from where the New Holland tractor had been taken. The John Deere tractor had been used to run over some recently planted pistachio trees. It was found pinned against a bulldozer and will cost about $2,500 to repair.

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact the sheriff’s dispatch center at 559-600-3111, the Ag Task Force at 559-600-8150 or email agcrimes@fresnosheriff.org. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Runaway tractors damage thousands of dollars worth of crops."