On September 13, 2019, Kern County Sheriff’s Office deputies with the Rural Crime Investigation Unit and the Taft Substation conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of Highway 166 and Short Road. The vehicle was occupied by 53-year-old Daniel Bravo Avendano and 68-year-old Francisco Gomez of Los Angeles. Rural Crime Investigation Unit detectives obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and located approximately 2,000 pounds of copper wire along with various other metals.
Avendano and Gomez were operating an illegal mobile recycling business in the Taft, Maricopa, and Cuyama areas. Much of the copper wire and other metals were believed to be stolen. Avendano and Gomez were placed under arrest for PC 496A(A)- Receiving Stolen Metals. Gomez was also arrested for a felony warrant.
