LAMONT — A major burglary ring in the small rural town of Lamont was busted up by authorities earlier this week when two Los Angeles men were arrested on Monday.
Adilio Lopez-Salinas, 33, and 27-year-old Jimmy Contreras-Zuniga, both from Los Angele, were booked into the Kern County Jail’s Central Receiving Facility on May 5, for burglary, grand theft, conspiracy, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.
According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, detectives from the department’s Rural Crime Investigation Unit had been looking into a recent rash of burglaries occurring at storage buildings and shops in rural areas of Kern and Tulare Counties over the past several months.
The burglaries followed the same pattern, which involved the suspects cutting holes into the sides of buildings and fences in order to access the property inside. Some of the items taken were generators, welders, hand and power tools.
“Because of the amount and pattern of burglaries occurring, detectives conducted surveillance in several rural areas in Kern County,” Public Information Officer Ray Pruitt said. “Finally, on Monday, detectives were given information that another break into a storage container had just taken place.”
Deputies immediately scrambled into action, and with the aid of a helicopter and K-9 unit, the suspects were taken into custody near the intersection of Adobe Road and Sandrini Road in Lamont.
During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, investigators were able to identify approximately $35,000 of property, which they said had been stolen from the rural areas of Kern and Tulare Counties.
Read more:
Visalia Times Delta: L.A. men arrested in Tulare burglary
Bakersfield Californian: Two arrested in possession of alleged stolen property
