Pomegranate thief caught caught on camera stealing from neighbor’s farm

A red-faced pom-snatcher in Fresno County has been caught looking aloof on camera with his hands full of the tart fruit, police announced Thursday.

52-year-old Leopoldo Leon Zaragoza of Del Rey, a “crop crook,” allegedly stole an estimated 150 to 200 pomegranates from a private farm, police told The California Post. Zaragoza allegedly traveled back and forth throughout the week to pluck the fruit out of the farmer’s field.

Photos show the man, identified by police as Zaragoza, struggling to hold the fruit in his hands as he walks off. The photos were taken from a mobile solar surveillance trailer positioned in the field and provided to police by the pomegranate farmer on Sept. 28.

Cops told The Post they contacted Zaragoza, who lived less than a mile away, and he confessed to stealing the pomegranates. He only had around 20 left, they said.

Zaragoza has not been arrested yet, though cops have submitted three counts of petty theft to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Tony Botti told The Post that it appeared to be a
crime of convenience” as Zaragoza allegedly walked off with bushels of the fruit.

Botti suggested the sheriff’s office was confident the man is a pomegranate thief.

“We know he did it. We have the evidence,” he said.

Fresno County farmers are considered vulnerable to crimes like petty theft, Botti said, and police are encouraging them to put up cameras in their fields.

“Farmers really leave themselves exposed, so trying to encourage them to put forward security measures,” he said.

Produce theft is “fairly common” in the area, Botti noted.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing the case and will decide whether to file charges.

Anyone with further information about Zaragoza is asked to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Agricultural Crimes Task Force at (559) 600-8150.

Pomegranates are a relatively expensive fruit. The fruit costs $2.48 per pound, according to 2023 USDA data, which is more pricey than apples, pears, grapes, and oranges.

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