He was offering bees to growers. Then the bee owner, from Texas, came forward

A Kings County man is in jail for allegedly stealing bees.

Antonio Diaz Catarino,44, was providing bees to orchard owners but the bees were not his, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office said. An investigation began Jan. 31 after someone tipped the sheriff’s office and alleged that beehives in several Kings County orchards were stolen out of Texas.

The sheriff’s office’s Rural Crimes Task Force got in touch with the owner, who happened to be in California, and drove to several orchards where the bees had been spotted. The owner told police the beehives were his and that a separate investigation was also taking place in Texas.

Deputies found about 238 beehives with a total estimated value of about $128,500. Deputies also learned that Catarino had allegedly been contracting the beehives for about $40 per hive.

Catarino was booked into the Kings County Jail and was charged with possessing stolen property and grand theft.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 8:46 PM with the headline "He was offering bees to growers. Then the bee owner, from Texas, came forward."