FRESNO (KMJ) — A new suspect in the theft of thousands of bee hives may have no idea he is wanted.
A warrant is now in effect for Vitaliy Yeroshenko, named as one of the two alleged to have stolen over 1,200 bee hives from 10 different beekeepers over the course of two years. The initial haul was discovered April 28th, in an orchard near Central and Temperance Avenues in Fresno County.
“He’s a 48 year old man who lives in the Sacramento area,” reveals Tony Botti with Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Yeroshenko is described as living in the Antelope and North Highlands area.
Charges have already been filed against the man described as his business partner, Pavel Mihauloviz Tveretinov. He was arraigned inside Fresno County Superior Court on Thursday, facing nine felony counts of receiving stolen property, one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property, as well as an allegation that the value of the property exceeded $200,000.
But the search is now on for Yeroshenko.
“They both do the same thing. They take hives that don’t belong to them, they work with somebody to find out locations where the bees are needed to pollinate the crops, and they pose as though these stolen hives belong to them,” explains Botti.
“They set them in the fields, and they collect the money from an outside source.”
Botti adds that Yeroshenko could be oblivious to the search for him.
“That definitely could be the case, he might not even be aware that the warrant has been issued for his arrest as of yet…if and when he becomes aware that he’s arrestable he may very well walk into a police station and turn himself in.”
However, an arraignment date for Vitaliy Yeroshenko has already been announced. Due to the felony charges, Fresno County District Attorney’s office confirms that he must be present to plead either guilty or not guilty. He’s scheduled to appear inside Fresno County Superior Court on July 10th.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
