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Sixteen sago palms stolen from yard
| Tuesday, Feb 12 2008 11:22 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Feb 12 2008 4:32 PM
The walkway leading to her front door was bare when Sandra Rubio arrived home Saturday afternoon.
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Casey Christie / The Californian Sandra Rubio recently had 16 sago palms stolen from her front yard in Bakersfield that she had been taking care of for 6 years. (CQ)
It wasn’t when she left her house that morning.
Sixteen sago palms that dotted the walkway were stolen sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Rubio said. She’s had the plants for years, and a few of them go back to when she first moved to the 5900 block of Walton Drive 10 years ago.
“People don’t have any shame any more,” Rubio said of the theft.
She called police after asking her neighbors if they saw anything and driving around the neighborhood looking for the plants. A few larger sago palms were left behind because the thief or thieves probably couldn’t carry them, Rubio said.
The plants, especially the larger ones, carry a hefty price tag. Fully mature sago palms, which can grow to between eight to 10 feet tall, can cost as much as $2,000, said Angel Garcia, an employee at Majestic Palms on Rosedale Highway. Smaller ones can sell for about $85, he said.
Updated statistics on sago palm thefts in the city weren’t immediately available, but in a previous article Bakersfield police Sgt. Greg Terry said there were 25 sago palm thefts in 2006-07.
Terry said there isn’t much residents can do to prevent thefts of the plants if someone is really determined to steal them. The best a person can probably do is ask neighbors for their help in watching who’s in the neighborhood and what they’re doing.
Despite the loss, Rubio said she’s not giving up on owning sago palms, which she calls her “babies.” If the possibility of arrest isn’t enough to stop people from taking the plants, she has another plan.
“I’m going to install an electric fence,” she said.