Deputies pulled his car over and found stolen goods, police said — 800 pounds of lemons

Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop in a small Coachella Valley town on Friday and found something unusual: 800 pounds of “freshly picked” lemons, stolen from a farm, according to a release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

At about 9:45 a.m., sheriff’s deputies pulled over a vehicle in the farming community of Thermal, officials said. When they searched the car, they found about 800 pounds of lemons that had been stolen from a nearby farm.

The driver of the car, 69-year-old Dionicio Fierros of Los Angeles, was arrested and taken to the Riverside County Jail on suspicion of stealing agricultural products, officials said. Authorities seized the lemons.

The discovery of the lemons and arrest came as sheriff’s deputies continue to investigate several recent agricultural thefts in Thermal as well as nearby communities Mecca and Oasis, according to the release. Details on those thefts were not available.

This story was originally published August 26, 2018 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Deputies pulled his car over and found stolen goods, police said — 800 pounds of lemons."