Charges filed in hog feed thefts in Duplin
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on October 30, 2013 1:46 PM
Three men have been charged in connection with the theft of hog feed from Goldsboro Milling Co. hog farms.
The arrests were announced Tuesday morning by Duplin County Sheriff Blake Wallace.
The arrests were made as a result of a tracking system Goldsboro Milling Company has employed. To date more than 10,000 pounds. of feed belonging to Goldsboro Milling Co. have been recovered with a property value of approximately $2,000.
Charged were:
* Reyna Martinez, 47, of Albertson, two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, one count of possession of stolen goods, $15,000 bond
* Ernesto Campusano Burciaga, 33, of Warsaw, one count of larceny by employee, one count of obtaining property by false pretenses, and one count of possession of stolen goods, $30,000 bond
* Oscar Antonio Coto Sagastume, 37, of Seven Springs, one count of breaking and entering, and one count of felony larceny, $5,000.
Sagastume was arrested and charged in Lenoir County and is also wanted on unrelated charges in Wayne County. Information provided by the Duplin County Sheriff's Office did not identify the Wayne County charges.
Burciaga and Martinez were both arrested and charged in Duplin County.
Bronnie Quinn, president of Quinn Investigations LLC in Wayne County, notified the Duplin Sheriff's Office on April 24 concerning an investigation involving the theft of hog feed from the hog farms.
As a result of recent larcenies from Goldsboro Milling farms involving hog feed, and to reduce the potential for introduction of diseases into the farms, the company integrated a tracking system into its hog feed. It is currently the only known tracking system in the world used in hog feed, Wallace said.
With this tracking system, law enforcement can positively determine whether or not a particular hog feed belongs to Goldsboro Milling Co.
The investigation is ongoing at this time, Wallace said.