RIVERSIDE – Suspect with an outstanding felony warrant discovered with undocumented cow and arrested.
A Riverside Police Officer stopped to check on two suspicious subjects in the area of Arlington and Norwood on Wednesday, November 5 in the early hours of the morning. The two individuals were loitering near a parked vehicle behind a closed automotive business.
When the officer approached the subject, he discovered that one of the individuals had an outstanding warrant for narcotics violations. The officer proceeded to inspect the vehicle and found an unexpected passenger. A 3 day-old jersey calf blinked up at the officer from the backseat.
The seventy-pound calf appeared unharmed, but had the identification tags ripped from its ears. The officer questioned the suspect, but the man had no documentation for the calf. Cesar Zamora Santana, 31 of Riverside claimed that he had purchased the calf for $200 from an unknown seller at a gas station.
Zamora Santana was arrested for possessing the calf without documentation and an outstanding felony arrest warrant for narcotics charges. According to Officer Cheryl Hayes in a press release, the calf is believed to be stolen and authorities are looking for assistance in returning it to its owner. In the meantime, Riverside County Animal Services took possession of the calf and placed it in foster care, where it will be bottle fed and cared for until its owner can be found.
While cattle rustling may sound like an unusual crime for our times, it is actually on the rise. The current year’s cattle prices have hit all-time highs and are expected to remain high, making cattle theft lucrative. Texas and Oklahoma have seen a spike in cattle rustling, with more than 10,000 cows and horses reported missing in 2012, according to NPR’s State Impact. Californians may also want to mind their cows.
Photo: Riverside Police Department
Read More:
Capital Press: Riverside man arrested after calf found in car
Desert Sun: Man arrested in ‘calf napping’
