The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has taken two men into custody following in an investigation into stolen produce from a farm in Lamont.

The full release is below:

On January 6, 2022, Detectives from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Investigation Unit located a vehicle containing stolen produce in the 100 block of Clifton Street in Bakersfield. Several stolen commercial produce bins were recovered from the property. Through their investigation, detectives determined the produce was stolen from farmland in the Lamont area.

Rural Crime Detectives, with assistance from the Bakersfield Police Department, recovered two stolen vehicles nearby in the 1400 block of Wilkins Street. One stolen vehicle was loaded with stolen produce from the same farm. The estimated total value of the stolen produce and bins was over $7,000.

Detectives arrested Robert Menchaca, age 29, for felony theft-related charges and three outstanding felony warrants. Francisco Orozco, age 32, was arrested for various felony theft-related charges.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Investigation Unit at (661) 392-6071 or (661) 861-3110. Reference case number 2022-00002052.