Cops nab sheep swipers

Two men have been busted for livestock thefts including stealing 20 sheep from a Watmaugh Road ranch on Sept. 16.

The property had also been hit on August 12. There was a similar theft in Petaluma on Sept. 8.

What Sheriff’s Department called a spike in livestock thefts led to a county-wide alert to ranchers to be aware of suspicious activity.

The net began to close around the suspects on Sept. 16 when a Petaluma police officer pulled over a pick-up towing a trailer with 20 sheep. The driver was identified as Luis Ortiz Orea, 28 years old, of Petaluma.

The officer, though suspicious, could not ascertain if the sheep were stolen, and Orea was released from the traffic stop.

Later that morning, a deputy responded to the 1700 block of Watmaugh Road in Sonoma where a rancher who reported approximately 20 sheep had been stolen.

According to the Sheriff’s report, Orea was placed under surveillance and tracked to a large property in the 4300 block of Sunland Avenue in Santa Rosa. A search warrant lead to the recovery of 17 sheep.

Orea and his brother, Pedro Ortiz Orea, 30, were arrested.

Detectives said that the sheep stolen from the Watmaugh Road ranch were transported out of the county and sold to another suspect, who then sold them to various livestock auction yards.

The livestock auction yards have been notified, and the cases are still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Rural Crimes Task Force Detective Tony King at (707) 565-2995.