San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies arrested 36-year-old Jose Luis Baez Burgos, a resident of Mexico, on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and theft of utilities after an investigation on October 16, 2026.[1] Burgos was booked into the Barstow Jail.[1] County booking records cited by a second outlet identify him as a 36-year-old Mexican national arrested on suspicion of theft of utilities and say he was released on bail pending legal proceedings.[2]
Deputies from the Barstow Station had responded at about 10:25 p.m. to the 27000 block of Church Avenue after a report of a man operating a lift on a power line without warning lights or traffic cones.[1] During the investigation deputies found freshly cut electrical wire and what appeared to be an electrical bypass from a power line on Church Street routed to the property.[1] Inside a vacant residence deputies saw fertilizer, air conditioning systems, lighting equipment and electrical lines running into individual rooms, which authorities said were consistent with a marijuana cultivation operation.[1] Investigators also found a tampered electrical panel and power lines running through a wall to a detached garage with a strong odor of marijuana coming from the garage.[1]
The sheriff’s marijuana enforcement team served a search warrant at the property and investigators located approximately 365 marijuana plants, described by the second outlet as uprooted pot plants.[1] Southern California Edison personnel confirmed the electrical service had been bypassed and electricity was being stolen.[1] Burgos was arrested on suspicion of violating California Penal Code 498(b)(1) for theft of utilities and Health and Safety Code 11358(c) for marijuana cultivation.[1] Authorities gave no estimated value for the stolen electricity or the marijuana plants and no harvested cannabis weight was reported.[1]
