CRIME TRACKER: Lower Valley farms hit hard by metal thieves
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WAPATO, Wash. -- Yakima Valley farmers say they're losing thousands of dollars in equipment to thieves and little is being done by law enforcement to stop it.
"They take the sides off and they steal the radiator, which is up in the front," said Lower Valley farmer Dave Carlson. "They take the sides off and they steal the radiator, which is up in the front," said Carlson.
Dave Carlson said his orchards, right outside of Wapato, are constantly targeted by metal thieves.
"Sometimes they'll come in and take the whole thing, unbolt the engine," said Carlson.
Nine of his wind machines were hit over the last several weeks. That's more than $15,000 dollars in losses.
Carlson estimates he loses close to $50,000 a year in stolen equipment.
"Keep out signs" in the area are easily ignored. Locks on the cover of the wind machine engines do little to keep thieves out.
Dave said property theft has become so rampant, he's had to purchase thousands of dollars in spare parts. Because if one of these wind machines is put out of commission during a freeze, hundreds of apple trees could be destroyed.
His neighbors have also been hit. Action News wanted to know how common property theft was in the county.
KIMA's Crime Tracker pulled the numbers and found those thefts rose countywide from 2010 to last year. However, year to date, 2012's numbers are lower than last year.
Dave feels investigators aren't doing enough.
"They'll come out and say I'm here to give you a case number, but I'm not going to investigate," said Carlson.
Yakima County deputies say there's usually not enough evidence or witnesses to follow these cases.
This come as the county reviews the efficiency of its criminal justice system.
We asked Yakima County Commissioner Kevin Bouchey what he would say to farmers like Dave who think his taxes aren't providing the services he needs.
Bouchey said those concerns are the reason the county commissioned the review, but the sheriff decides the cases to pursue.
That doesn't make Dave feel any better.
"We pay a lot of taxes, generally, the [agriculture] community together. So they need to pay attention to the Agriculture situation," said Carlson.
Deputies say they don't get a lot of calls from recycling companies about stolen parts.
The farmer we spoke with tells KIMA some of his peers have lost their insurance coverage after filing expensive claims for stolen property.
"They take the sides off and they steal the radiator, which is up in the front," said Lower Valley farmer Dave Carlson. "They take the sides off and they steal the radiator, which is up in the front," said Carlson.
Dave Carlson said his orchards, right outside of Wapato, are constantly targeted by metal thieves.
"Sometimes they'll come in and take the whole thing, unbolt the engine," said Carlson.
Nine of his wind machines were hit over the last several weeks. That's more than $15,000 dollars in losses.
Carlson estimates he loses close to $50,000 a year in stolen equipment.
"Keep out signs" in the area are easily ignored. Locks on the cover of the wind machine engines do little to keep thieves out.
Dave said property theft has become so rampant, he's had to purchase thousands of dollars in spare parts. Because if one of these wind machines is put out of commission during a freeze, hundreds of apple trees could be destroyed.
His neighbors have also been hit. Action News wanted to know how common property theft was in the county.
KIMA's Crime Tracker pulled the numbers and found those thefts rose countywide from 2010 to last year. However, year to date, 2012's numbers are lower than last year.
Dave feels investigators aren't doing enough.
"They'll come out and say I'm here to give you a case number, but I'm not going to investigate," said Carlson.
Yakima County deputies say there's usually not enough evidence or witnesses to follow these cases.
This come as the county reviews the efficiency of its criminal justice system.
We asked Yakima County Commissioner Kevin Bouchey what he would say to farmers like Dave who think his taxes aren't providing the services he needs.
Bouchey said those concerns are the reason the county commissioned the review, but the sheriff decides the cases to pursue.
That doesn't make Dave feel any better.
"We pay a lot of taxes, generally, the [agriculture] community together. So they need to pay attention to the Agriculture situation," said Carlson.
Deputies say they don't get a lot of calls from recycling companies about stolen parts.
The farmer we spoke with tells KIMA some of his peers have lost their insurance coverage after filing expensive claims for stolen property.
