TAFT — Thanks to good work from detectives from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department, a Taft burglary ring has been exposed, resulting in the arrest of four men last Tuesday.
Luis Arteaga, 21, and 24-year-old Sergio Arteaga, along with 20-year-old Juan Mota and 18-year-old Jose Mota, all of south Taft, were booked into the Kern County Jail on various charges ranging from driving without a license and burglary and possession of stolen property, to cultivation of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and obstructing a peace officer.
According to Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Ray Pruitt, the June 2 arrests were the result of an investigation that began back on May 31, when deputies began looking into a residential burglary that occurred in the 300 block of Shattuck Avenue in south Taft. “A concerned citizen came forward and provided detectives with information about a suspicious vehicle that had been in the neighborhood the day of the burglary,” Pruitt said.
Two days later, on June 2, deputies spotted a vehicle that matched the witnesses’ description and performed a traffic stop, which resulted in the arrest of the driver Luis Arteaga for driving without a license.
During the stop, deputies also detained Sergio Arteaga, who was later arrested after deputies found a stolen television, several marijuana plants and a prescribed controlled substance at the pair’s residence. “Further investigation led detectives to two additional suspects connected with the two suspects already in custody,” Pruitt said.
They were Juan and Jose Mota, who are accused of receiving stolen property from the burglary suspects. Jose Mota was also arrested for two active warrants.
