MIAMI -- A man was arrested after a Miami-Dade deputy found over 140 stolen avocados in his truck at a southwest Miami-Dade grove. According to the arrest report, the deputy was checking the property of Brooks Tropical, which grows tropical produce, at around 11:17 p.m. on Sunday, when he saw a white pickup truck parked at the end of the driveway. The deputy turned on his emergency lights and went to investigate. The arrest report said that Duniel Arecesgonzalez, 37, approached the deputy during the investigation, so the deputy detained him and confirmed that Arecesgonzalez owned the truck. The deputy noted in the report that he found 17 avocados in the truck bed. Four black construction trash bags filled with avocados were also found next to the truck, and two more black bags filled with avocados were found inside the grove. In total, 142 avocados were recovered, valued at US$852, according to the report. The report then said that when an investigator tried to interview Arecesgonzalez at the Agricultural Patrol Section office, he said, “Why do I need to speak to you? I was caught stealing avocados.” The report noted that he then refused to answer any other questions. Arecesgonzalez was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his total bond was set at $3000. He posted the bond amount and was released on Monday.
