OAKHURST – An Oakhurst man was arrested last night when he reportedly tried to make off with a backhoe that was part of a Cal Trans project on Highway 41.
At 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, a concerned citizen reported to 911 that someone was driving away on a piece of equipment from a Cal Trans work site just south of Oakhurst near Victoria Lane.
Oakhurst CHP officers arrived at the scene to discover Christopher Allen Cervantes, 43, driving a yellow 2010 John Deere 310 backhoe down a dirt driveway. The vehicle was stopped by officers and the suspect taken into custody.
A call to the Cal Trans supervisor confirmed that the man did not have permission to be in possession of the vehicle.
Cervantes was arrested without incident and booked into the Madera County Jail charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, and attempting to sell stolen property. He is being held on a $25,000 bond.
