Landscaper arrested for looting after allegedly stealing electric bicycle from Mountain Fire victim

CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) -- A landscaper was arrested Saturday in Camarillo after he allegedly stole an electric bicycle from a man whose property was damaged by the Mountain Fire.

The incident happened Friday when the victim was using the bike to survey the damage to his property.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, he parked his bicycle in his driveway and walked around his front yard. That's when he noticed his neighbor's landscaping crew was in the area.

"When he returned where he had parked his bicycle, he found it had been taken," said the sheriff's office in a press release. "Due to the timing and proximity of the theft, he confronted the landscapers, who were at his neighbor's residence, and one of them admitted to taking the bicycle."

The suspect, identified as Ramon Avila Pacheco, ended up returning the bike.

The victim reported the theft the following day when deputies were patrolling the area amid an evacuation order.

Deputies arrested Pacheco near Temple Avenue and Aloha Street for on suspicion of looting in an evacuation order area. He was booked into the Pre Trial-Detention Facility.

The incident remains under investigation.