Grand Theft Avocado?

A Lompoc man was arrested for grand theft after being found on a Goleta ranch with a bucket of avocados, as well as a car trunk full of the green fruit and some methamphetamine.

According to a news release from Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, 44-year-old Tim Rounds was spotted by Sheriff’s Deputy Special Duty Hartley Freedman, who was patrolling the Goleta area late on Sunday, May 8. Deputy Freedman noticed a vehicle stopped on the side of the road in the 6900 block of Cathedral Oaks Road and a bag containing a substance that resembled methamphetamine on the vehicle dashboard. He saw Rounds walking nearby wearing a headlamp and holding a bucket of avocados. 

Deputies also found a methamphetamine pipe and the trunk-load of avocados during a search of the vehicle. According to the owner of the ranch, Rounds did not have permission to harvest the avocados. The name of the ranch was not released.

Rounds was arrested for the felony of grand theft fruit and misdemeanors involving possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked at the Main Jail and later released without bail. According to Zick, the avocados were returned to the ranch owner. 

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