Man arrested for thefts in Lost Hills, Buttonwillow

On the evening of Sept. 9 a farming company in Lost Hills reported one of its water pumps was damaged, and stripped of copper wire, the Kern County Sheriff said.

The suspect, who was captured on surveillance cameras, stole approximately 150 feet of copper wire during the incident, causing about $15,000 in damage. During the investigation, the suspect was identified as Efrain Briones, 37 from Lost Hills.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Rural Crimes Unit located Briones in the 21000 block of Universal Street in Lost Hills on Monday, and took him into custody without incident. Briones was arrested and booked into the central receiving facility for grand theft and a vehicle theft charge stemming from an unrelated incident last month in the Buttonwillow area.

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 2022-05005675.