A former caretaker at a Norco stable was arrested Thursday on suspicion of stealing saddles and other property of people who boarded horses at the stables.
Dennis Matthew Price, 20, of Eastvale, was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside for investigation of grand theft, possession of stolen property and probation violation. His bail was set at $5,000.
Sheriff's investigators believe that Price may have stolen the items Dec. 21 after heave rain caused the Santa Ana River to overflow it banks, triggering a middle-of-the-night evacuation of the horses from the River Trails Stables in the 4500 block of Hamner Avenue, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.
People who boarded their horses at the stables started reporting the items missing during cleanup operations at the stables, the department said.
Investigators found some of the stolen items in February at a San Bernardino County pawn shop, and further investigation led them to Price, the department said.