BEN LOMOND, Calif. (KSBW) – Two Texans are now in jail in California after they tried to steal nearly 30 pounds of marijuana. In a strange twist, the men tried to pull off the heist using pellet guns.
Julie Fabrizio is the owner of a house on Bahr Drive in Ben Lomond where Noah Hatcher and Anthony Jefferson are said to have turned up with two pellet guns to steal thirty pounds of illegal weed valued at $50,000.
“I had no idea of the extent, so I’m evicting him,” Fabrizio said after the incident. “I sent him an eviction notice this morning”
The two tenants were bound inside the home with zip ties, but one of them managed to call 9-1-1. The thieves placed the stolen pot in a Jeep, but when law enforcement showed up they ran off.
Hatcher was captured near the home. Anthony Jefferson was arrested near Zayante.
The neighborhood was locked down for almost three hours and residents had no idea that pot—and a significant amount of it—was behind Wednesday’s police action until KSBW showed them. “Whoa! I wouldn’t have guessed that,” resident Laura Staats said in response to the news.
Dr. Janice Patten said, “That makes me feel very worried about the safety of our neighborhood and the safety of our community frankly.”
Law enforcement points out the dangers this type of black market operation can have in a community. Dee Baldwin with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said, “Marijuana has a value and there’s certain people willing to take a risk to steal it.”
Fabrizio said, “It makes me feel awful. It makes me feel betrayed and I feel very sad that I have to evict this person and also feel sad that my neighbors were all impacted.”
The two suspects have been charged with robbery, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy.
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