Community
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Agriculture Crime Arrest
| Nature of Incident: | Agriculture Crime Arrest | ||||
| Report Number: | 26-14786 & 26-19682 | ||||
| Location: | South Mountain Road @ San Cayetano Street, Unincorporated Fillmore | ||||
| Date & Time: | 02/12/2026 | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Fillmore Patrol Resources, Fillmore Detective Unit | ||||
| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Eli Yeaton |
Unincorporated Fillmore |
44 | |||
| Narrative: | |||||
| On 02/12/2026, 44-year-old Fillmore resident, (S) Eli Yeaton, was arrested for multiple agricultural thefts. On 02/02/2026, deputies from the Fillmore Sheriff’s Station responded to an agricultural field located near Keith Road and Old Telegraph Road reference a possible agricultural theft. This agriculture field is located in the unincorporated area west of Fillmore. Deputies arrived on scene and found evidence that an agricultural theft had likely occurred. Additionally, they found evidence of a possible suspect. Over the course of the next week, patrol deputies collaborated with detectives from the Fillmore Detective Unit and identified a likely suspect as 44-year-old Fillmore resident, (S) Eli Yeaton. On 02/12/2026, Fillmore patrol deputies contacted Yeaton at his residence. During the contact, deputies found evidence linking Yeaton to the agricultural theft on 02/02/2026, along with evidence linking Yeaton to additional agricultural thefts. As a result of the contact, Yeaton was arrested for multiple agricultural thefts and booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility pending court proceedings. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is committed to being present and available for the communities we serve. In addition to vigilantly patrolling our agricultural areas, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to provide the community with the following crime prevention tips:
The Fillmore Patrol Station encourages the agricultural community to utilize “Farm Watch,” a partnership between the farming community and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Farm Watch is a county-wide electronic neighborhood watch program that is distributed to more than several hundred farms, ranches, nurseries, and supply houses. This program provides information to ranchers on agriculture crime trends and on how to react and treat the crime scene so that potential evidence is preserved for immediate processing by deputies of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. For more information about Farm Watch please feel free to contact Detective Mitch Peterson at (805) 384-3728. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and Fillmore Police Department are committed to increasing and strengthening community partnerships and utilizing technologies and evidence-based practices to enhance collaborative efforts at reducing crime and improving public safety of all residents by continued community partnerships. Join us in the fight on crime by following us on “X” @VENTURASHERIFF, Facebook, Instagram @ VCSHERIFF, and with Nixle by texting your zip code to 888777 to receive local law enforcement and public safety alerts and advisories. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank members of the public for their on-going support and due diligence in providing information to assist our agency in solving crimes. We are better at what we do because of our community partnerships. Join us in the fight on crime by following us on Twitter @fillmoresheriff, Facebook, Instagram @VCSHERIFF, and with Nixle by texting your zip code to 888777 to receive local law enforcement and public safety alerts and advisories. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant Jarrod Foote | ||||
| News Release Date: | 02/24/2026 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective Mitch Peterson [email protected] (805) 384-3728 Detective Dustin Heersche [email protected] (805) 477-7012 Detective Axel Morales [email protected] (805) 477-7011 |
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| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Eduardo Malagon YES NO |
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Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511