May 23, 2025 – Kern County Sheriff’s Office officials report that the Rural Crime Unit arrest two for numerous thefts of brass irrigation valves.

Over the course of several months, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase of brass irrigation valve thefts in the farmlands in the North Area of Kern County. These types of thefts have caused several thousand dollars in damages and repairs. Subjects involved in these types of thefts will remove all the brass from the valves and recycle the material for monetary gain.

Through several of these investigations, detectives with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Investigations Unit obtained evidence, which assisted detectives in identifying Pedro Mendez Gonzalez (39), of Delano, and Gonzalo Villalobos (46), of Delano, as the subjects involved in the thefts.

On May 22, 2025, Detectives from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Investigation Unit served a search warrant in the 10000 of San Jose Avenue. While at the property, detectives located several elements of the brass valves and further evidence indicating Gonzalez and Villalobos were involved in the thefts.

Gonzalez and Villalobos were both arrested for violating Penal Code 487(a)- Grand Theft, Penal Code 182(a)(1)- Conspiracy, and Penal Code 666.1(a)- Theft with two or more prior convictions. Both were booked at the Lerdo Inmate Reception Center.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office Rural Crime Investigations Unit at (661) 392-6071 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (661) 322-4040.

Source: Kern County Sheriff’s Office