Detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Ag Task Force have arrested 61 year old David Kenneth Brisco of Dos Palos. On March 10th, he was booked into the Fresno County Jail on felony charges of burglary, vehicle theft, grand theft and receiving stolen property. His bail has been set at $55,000.
On February 25th, Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a burglary on the 30000 block of W. Whitesbridge Ave. in Mendota. Deputies learned that several items were missing from the property. This included a Caterpillar road grader (est. value $5,000), 2,000 gallon steel water storage tank (est. value $3,000), chain link fencing & rolling gates (est. value $4,500) and a John Deere hydraulic row disk (est. value $10,000). This was a total loss of $22,500.
On March 8th, an Ag Task Force detective working the case was driving in the area of 29000 W. Whitesbridge Ave. He noticed a CAT road grader parked on a piece of property that resembled the stolen equipment. A closer inspection revealed it was in fact the stolen grader. The detective noticed the water tank, fencing and disk were also on this land. The detective was able to contact the property owner / renter and found that he had bought all of the items off another man for $6,500. The detective was able to identify the man who sold him the stolen equipment as David Brisco and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
On the morning of March 10th, officers with the Dos Palos Police Department took Brisco into custody and turned him over to the Sheriff’s Office. Detectives interviewed Brisco and learned that he posed as the owner of the ag equipment and took the buyer onto the property to conduct a private sale. The buyer, or victim in this case, had no idea he was involved in what would later become a crime. The victim made arrangements with detectives to have the stolen equipment returned to its rightful owner. Unfortunately, detectives were unable to recover the $6,500 he paid to Brisco.
Anyone with information on David Brisco is asked to contact the Ag Task Force at (559) 600-8150 or agcrimes@fresnosheriff.org You may also contact Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). All tips will remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a cash reward.