Something Fishy going on
Under the cover of early-morning darkness, two men methodically whisked away thousands of dollars from a local Yucaipa restaurant on Saturday — in the form of fish — authorities said. Eighty-five koi fish were the spoils of a burglary operation involving back-and-forth bucket hauls. Security video obtained by The LA Times shows two men holding buckets and repeatedly entering and exiting the outdoor property of the Oak House Restaurant in Yucaipa. The restaurant has a small ranch where customers can observe a variety of exotic animals, such as Amazon cockatoos, fainting goats and the koi fish, said Silvia Duarte, who owns the business with her husband. “How can you trust people now?” Duarte said. “We have antiques at the restaurant, we have classic cars. This is a unique place you don’t see everywhere.” Saturday’s fishing expedition occurred about a week after Duarte contacted police because she had begun noticing that the number of koi in her pond seemed to be dwindling. Also, fish with certain patterns were disappearing, she said. In total, 85 were stolen, including the theft Saturday. However, since there was no threat at that time, Duarte was told by authorities they couldn’t do much. The motivation behind the thefts is not yet known, sheriff’s deputies told The LA Times. But they noted that each fish, if sold, could have fetched $50 to $1,500, depending on the purchaser.
After 400 of the ornamental carp were stolen from an office park outside Washington in 2013, the Washington Post noted that some collectors “will pay as much as $25,000 for a championship fish.” But one koi dealer told The Times most don’t garner anywhere near that price. They go for about $20 for a 10-inch specimen and $200 for a 2-foot-long koi, if bred domestically. For Duarte, the koi were worth much more than their monetary value — she and her husband have been raising koi for more than 20 years and see them as pets, she said. Some of the kids who visit the business “have names for the fishes,” Duarte said. “They’re not just for us. … Our clients, our customers, all love the animals too.” There was a small public outcry online after Duarte posted about Saturday’s theft on social media. Both Duarte and authorities were grappling with how to solve the problem of outdoor property theft. Duarte said that, because of certain fire regulations, she is not allowed to lock the gate that provides access to the outdoor ranch and her other animals. After the loss of 85 koi, however, she vowed to figure out a way to secure the gate. If not, “it is possible that it can happen again.”
David Smith, 42, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of grand theft in the burglary after investigators tracked his vehicle from the scene, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Surveillance video led deputies to one of the two men accused in the theft, sheriff’s officials said. Two men absconded with 85 decorative koi from a pond outside a restaurant, California authorities reported. Investigators were able to track the suspect vehicle to and from the scene and used surveillance video to identify one of the suspects. The sheriff’s department said they went to David Smith’s home, where they found evidence of the theft — along with five Koi fish. Smith was arrested on charges of grand theft. The five fish were returned to the restaurant, but the others are believed to have been sold. They found five of the stolen fish at his home and arrested the 42-year-old Yucaipa man on a charge of grand theft, deputies said. “The koi fish have since been returned to their grateful owners,” deputies said in the release.
Koi stories
My wife walks into the kitchen and sees me on the floor, gasping for air and flopping around. She turns around in disgust and walks back out.
Its my own fault. She hates it when I act koi.
Two ducks were sitting in a pond, one of the ducks said: “Quack.”
The other duck said: “I was going to say that!”
A man was playing golf one sunny afternoon when he hit his ball into a pond. As he approached the water to retrieve his ball, he noticed a small frog sitting on a lily pad. To his surprise, the frog spoke up and said, “Excuse me, sir, but I’m not actually a frog. I’m a beautiful princess under a curse. If you kiss me, I’ll transform back into my true form, and I’ll be forever grateful.”
The startled man picked up the frog and put it into his pocket. As he continued playing golf, the frog called out, “Hey, didn’t you hear what I said? I’m a princess! Please, if you kiss me, I’ll turn back into a princess!”
The man replied, “Sorry, but at my age, I’d rather have a talking frog.”
Just hurt my wrists digging a hole between two koi ponds.
I think it’s carp-al tunnel.
June 30th Birthdays
1977 – Monica Potter, 1984 – Fantasia Barrino, 1983 – Lizzie Caplan, 1986 – Victoria Crawford
1966 – Mike Tyson, 1997 – Elliot Fletcher, 1930 – Thomas Sowell, 1985 – Michael Phelps