Newman man sentenced for stealing bee colonies

A Newman man on Tuesday pleaded no contest to felony grand theft for stealing nine bee colonies worth at least $2,250 and critical to the agriculture industry.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Linda McFadden sentenced Pedro Magallon Villafan, 46, to 120 days in jail, 240 hours of community service and three years of formal probation. The defendant can apply for an alternative work program rather than jail time, but it will be up to sheriff’s officials to determine whether he’s eligible.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Annette Rees said earlier that 180 days in jail and felony probation were a suitable sentence for Villafan. The prosecutor argued that Villafan, when his attempt at beekeeping failed, decided to take away this essential commodity from someone else.

Deputy Public Defender Shaun Wahid argued that his client was remorseful and has a history of being a hardworking, honest man.

Villafan tried to steal the bees from Orin Johnson, a second-generation beekeeper from Hughson. Johnson said earlier in court that his bees have been stolen four times and that his livelihood was being attacked.

In that same court hearing, the defendant apologized, saying he had invested all his money into becoming a beekeeper. When most of his bees died, Villafan said, he took Johnson’s bees in an act of desperation.

Johnson had placed the bees in a rural area of Del Puerto Canyon, southwest of Patterson, in advance of the almond bloom.

Johnson had testified in a preliminary hearing that February and March are peak season for the bees. He said queen bees are growing in January, and the hive is very active and valuable.

In the early hours of Jan. 3, a security guard working at the Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club notified Johnson of the bee theft. Prosecutors said the guard had seen a suspicious vehicle in the area where Johnson kept several bee colonies.

Testimony in the preliminary hearing indicated that Dre Castano of Rank Investigations caught the defendant stealing Johnson’s bee colonies. They were already loaded on the vehicle Villafan had driven onto the property, according to prosecutors.

Villafan told Stanislaus County sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Harris that he had cut the fence and was stealing the bees, according to prosecutors. They said Villafan cut a barbed-wire fence, bent it back and loaded the nine wooden boxes of bees.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Newman man sentenced for stealing bee colonies."