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Social Media Helping Wrangle Thieves Targeting San Joaquin County Farms

LODI (CBS13) — Thieves are targeting rural farms and ranches in San Joaquin County, but deputies say social media is helping them track down the suspects.

It's hard to keep an eye on your vehicle if it's across a field. A farm manager told CBS13 theft happens all the time, but now they're making a bigger effort to catch the thieves.

"I have two people that are not going to come back because of the money they lost that day. I don't blame them," said Marcel Cortez.

He's talking about the farm workers he manages at Stokes Vineyard in Thorton. Seven of their employees trucks parked on the road were broken into and many of their windows smashed.

"We had cellphones that were stolen, simple things like lunch pails. I had one guy who had his rent stolen, so he said that was $650 stolen," he said.

Cortez says the same thing happened last year. While the guys were tying vines in the field, the suspect or suspects pulled up and stole what they could.

"It's a shame because they're hard working. I know robbing anybody is bad, but especially for people out here who are just trying to make a living," he said.

But now there's online networking that's helping investigators nab thieves. A neighbor happened to turn surveillance pictures over to the San Joaquin Sheriff's Office of a man suspected of burglarizing vehicles in the area.

Locals posted pictures to a Facebook crime prevention page and sure enough, two days later deputies arrested a Robert Inderbitzen and charged him with auto theft and 10 counts of burglary. He was taken into custody after driving a stolen truck.

Deputies say they are still looking into whether Inderbitzen was the thief who broke into seven vehicles.

Marcel says these crimes in the field would most likely go unsolved, but says now more people have cameras and they are watching.

"I think the only reason that we caught him is because of Facebook," he said.

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