A cryogenic container filled with $2,000 worth of prize bull semen was stolen and later recovered late last week, when two Tulare County thieves were spotted transporting the substance away from the Hanford-area milk barn in the 8300 block of Excelsior Avenue.

Two brothers from Tulare, 26-year-old Alejandra Cisneros and Ismael Cisneros, 28, were arrested on Oct. 9 when the Kings County Rural Crimes Investigation Unit working alongside other agencies in the California Rural Crime Task Force tracked the pair across county lines.

Investigators believe that the two broke into the medical room of an Excelsior Avenue milk barn and stole an entire cryogenic container filled with bull semen, which they later may have intended to sell for profit.

"What most people in the public don't realize is that, typically, dairymen use artificial insemination with their herds," said Detective Darin Pearson with the Rural Crimes Unit. "Bull semen is worth tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the bull. There is really big money to be made from this stuff."

Comparing notes with the Tulare County Rural Crimes Unit and the Tulare County ACTION Project -- which provides additional resources to agriculture crime investigators throughout the Valley -- investigators were able to match a description of the vehicle to the two suspects and track them to a spot in the 21700 block of Road 36.

Once there, Ismael Cisneros reportedly tried to evade custody by driving away with the semen, leading detectives on a four mile car chase. He was later apprehended when he jumped out of the vehicle and tried to flee on foot, only to be caught minutes later.

Alejandra Cisneros was found inside a building at the meeting point, where he was apparently hiding at the time of his arrest under some clothing in a laundry room.

The container of bull semen was found and recovered during the arrests.

The two arrestees were apparently "subjects of interest" prior to their apprehension and may have been involved in other instances of bull semen theft that have occurred in Kings County over the past several weeks, investigators said.

"It is tough for people to guard against this kind of theft because the medication and storage rooms are usually located in the milk barns," Pearson said. "These barns are not in operation 24-7. They sit out in the middle of nowhere, with no cars around, and are a big open target to thieves like these that know what's there."

Officials with the Rural Crimes Investigation Unit recommend putting up video camera surveillance systems and additional lighting to help act as deterrents against these types of crimes.

"A surveillance system doesn't always prevent the theft, but it gives us a good place to start if there is a crime," Pearson said. "With video footage, we have a jump-start on the investigation and a better awareness of what to look for.

"It's also important people to just keep an eye out for who is coming and going on the farm. Back in the day, you could have a wooden door with no lock on it and everything was fine. But now, those days are gone."

Both suspects were transferred to Kings County and booked into the Kings County Jail on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property. They are being held in lieu of separate bails of $30,000 each.

An investigation into other thefts of this nature are ongoing at this time.

(Oct. 17, 2008)