Fairgrounds $572K burglary saga wraps up with sentencing

A high-profile burglary case involving the theft of more than $572,000 from the Ventura County Fair last year wrapped up Friday with sentencing for the three remaining defendants.

The fourth was sentenced in June.

Together, the four Los Angeles men carried out what prosecutors described as a sophisticated crime during the fair's 12-day run in August 2022 at the seaside grounds in Ventura. An insider who worked at the fairgrounds helped the crew access administrative offices and the safe where money from fair admissions was kept.

“This was a well-planned crime, committed by an organized burglary crew from Los Angeles,” Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute sophisticated criminals and send a message that Ventura County is not a soft target.”

All four defendants ultimately pleaded guilty to a variety of offenses prior to sentencing.

The stolen money was never recovered, prosecutors said.

The crime initially escaped public notice when authorities provided little information about an early morning break-in at the fairgrounds office reported on Aug. 10 last year.

The theft delayed the fair's opening that day and sparked rumors about the amount stolen. Fair officials offered no comment and California Highway Patrol officials would say only an "undisclosed" amount of cash had been taken. The CHP investigated because the fairgrounds are on state-owned property.

The scope of the theft emerged about two months later when minutes recorded at the fair board's September meeting indicated more than $500,000 was at stake.

Months passed before the four suspects were arrested in March as more details — including the amount stolen, tallied at $572,020 — came to light.

Case shut

Friday's sentencing in Ventura County Superior Court involved the two burglars who actually took the money and the lookout/driver, the DA's office said. The driver will serve a jail term while the burglars were sentenced to state prison.

• Rafael Morales, 56, of La Puente, and Jesus Rios, 56, of El Monte, were sentenced to three years and six months prison time. Both pleaded guilty in August to four felony counts, including misappropriation of public money, commercial burglary and grand theft. They also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor prowling. Prosecutors have described the pair as the ringleaders of the scheme.

• Carlos Alberto Aranda, 44, of Los Angeles, received a sentence of 364 days in county jail and two years felony probation. Aranda, the lookout and driver, had pleaded guilty in August to one felony count of misappropriation of public money. He was recruited for the job by Rios, his friend, according to prosecutors.

All three admitted enhancements, including that the crime involved sophistication and planning.

The insider, Baldwin Park resident Alexander Piceno, 28, pleaded guilty in May to commercial burglary, conspiracy and misappropriation of public money. He was sentenced to three years in prison in June and is currently housed at the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Piceno worked for the company that processed the fair's cash receipts. He left the front door of the administrative offices unlocked for the two men who stole the money, prosecutors said, and also told one of them where to find the combination for the safe.

The four defendants were also ordered to pay some $577,599 in restitution to the fairgrounds, formally known as the 31st District Agricultural Association.

In a statement, Senior Deputy DA Marc Leventhal, who prosecuted the case, praised CHP investigators for developing evidence in the case, saying the guilty pleas are a validation of their good work.

“The CHP immediately recognized this was an inside job and conducted a thorough investigation to identify the four perpetrators,” Leventhal said. “They used video surveillance footage in and around the crime scene, along with license plate reader hits on vehicles registered to Aranda and Rios."

Gretchen Wenner is the breaking news and city editor at the Star. She can be reached at gretchen.wenner@vcstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County Fair's $572K burglary case wraps up with sentencing