SALT LAKE CITY — A Southern California man’s weekend turned rather bitter.
A 69-year-old man was arrested in Southern California for allegedly stealing hundreds of pounds of lemons from a nearby farm, according to NBC San Diego.
Dionicio Fierros was pulled over Friday night and he was arrested after police officials said they found 800 pounds of fresh lemons in his vehicles.
The sheriff’s officials said the lemons were stolen, The Associated Press reported.
An agriculture theft spree has plagued much of the area, police officials said, according to NBC 4 New York.
In 2011, a string of thefts targeted local farms. Thieves stole grapes, bees and expensive farm equipment at the time.
According to The New York Times, a high unemployment rate and the ongoing drug epidemic fueled the string of thefts.
In fact, some thieves focused their efforts in Napa Valley, hoping to steal valuable grapes that helped grow the wine industry in that area.
Farmers were among the thieves looking to steal from the farms, according to The New York Times.
“It’s typical during certain times of the year: you’ll see a surge in theft from bigger farms,” said Deputy Sheriff John H. McCarthy, a rural crime investigator for Santa Barbara County, told The New York Times. “Chemicals, fuel and the type of things you need to put in a new crop.”