Sacramento man arrested, accused of beehive theft after Yolo County hive stakeout
Yolo County deputies and agriculture detectives arrested a suspected beehive thief on multiple felony charges after tracing live hives valued in the high tens of thousands of dollars to a theft in the Sacramento Valley.
The hives were tucked away in a remote corner of northeastern Yolo County, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were alerted Tuesday to the cluster of hives and called in agricultural crime investigators, who discovered the bee boxes’ distinctive markings had been altered to conceal their owners’ identifying marks.
Investigators staked out the boxes and saw their suspect return to continue modifying the hives before taking him into custody. The man, identified only as a 47-year-old Sacramento resident, was still clad in his beekeepers’ suit, when deputies took him into custody. He was booked into the Yolo County Jail, where he was held in lieu of $10,000 bail, according to jail officials.
Sheriff’s officials said the state’s Rural Crime Prevention Task Force provided the resources that helped local investigators determine when and where the hives were stolen. The recovered hives were returned to their owner, the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office said.
The investigation continues.
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