Fresno County Deputies Arrest Huron Man, Recover Ghost Gun in $40K Copper Theft

Copper wire stripped from an irrigation well and electrical panel at a farm near Howard and Palmer avenues outside Huron caused an estimated $40,000 in damage before Fresno County Sheriff's Ag Task Force detectives used the property's own surveillance cameras to track down and arrest Salvador Silva Valdovinos, 35, of Huron.

Deputies first responded to the farm on March 24 after a report of grand theft of copper wire. The wire had been removed from both the irrigation well and the electrical panel, infrastructure whose combined theft and damage the Sheriff's Office estimated at $40,000. Surveillance cameras on the property had captured a man who appeared to be carrying a rifle climbing into a pickup truck, which then left the scene.

Ag Task Force detectives took over the investigation that same day. The following morning, a detective spotted a pickup truck in Huron that matched the vehicle from the footage. A traffic stop on March 25 identified the driver as Valdovinos; the truck had been reported stolen, and investigators determined he matched the man seen on the farm's cameras. He was detained.

Detectives served a search warrant at Valdovinos' apartment with assistance from Fresno County Sheriff's patrol, the California Highway Patrol and Kings County's Rural Crime Task Force. Inside, investigators found a small amount of suspected stolen copper wire and three firearms: a privately manufactured "ghost gun" Glock-style pistol, a bolt-action rifle and an AR-15 that matched the rifle recorded in the farm surveillance footage. The recovery of those weapons added a public-safety dimension the Sheriff's Office made explicit: in rural areas, wire thieves may be armed, and deputies urged anyone who spots suspicious activity to call law enforcement rather than approach.

Valdovinos was booked into Fresno County Jail on three felony counts: possession of firearms by a felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and auto theft. Bail was set at $362,500. At the time of his arrest, he was already out on bail from a separate, prior copper-wire theft case.

The Sheriff's Office encouraged property owners on remote agricultural land to invest in surveillance systems and report vandalism promptly. Anyone with information on the case, filed under reference number 26-3359, is asked to contact the Fresno County Sheriff's Office at 559-600-3111 or Valley Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.