Man Arrested For Theft Of Campground Fees

Early on the morning of Monday, April 5th, law enforcement rangers from California State Parks and the National Park Service conducted a surveillance operation at Jedidiah Smith Campground, which had seen a string of thefts of money from the campground’s “iron ranger” over the past two months. A surveillance camera was put up in the area and within a day a man was seen on camera stealing money envelopes from the iron ranger. On April 5th a team of seven rangers from both the national and state parks surveyed the area and were able to catch him in the act of stealing money envelopes. The man and an accomplice were arrested and charged with grand theft, possession of burglary tools, and possession of methamphetamine.

The man admitted that he had stolen over $5,000 from the campground over the last two months. He has a long history of theft and burglaries and admitted that he had previously been caught in a national park in Utah for doing the same thing and been sentenced to six months in federal prison.