{"id":295050,"date":"2026-05-01T15:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/295050\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:07:10","slug":"fresno-county-authorities-arrest-suspect-in-tractor-thefts-and-arson-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/295050\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno County Authorities Arrest Suspect in Tractor Thefts and Arson Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fresno County authorities have arrested a 29-year-old Riverdale man after detectives recovered two stolen pieces of farm equipment and linked him to a vegetation fire, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>Austin Medford was booked into the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft and arson, according to the Fresno County Sheriff\u2019s Office. His bail was set at $125,000.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives with the Sheriff\u2019s Agricultural Task Force were investigating the reported theft of a hay-harvesting tractor that went missing from the area of Riverdale and Walnut avenues. The tractor was later found abandoned less than three miles away near Harlan and Marks avenues.<\/p>\n<p><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/gvwire.com\/contact\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"GVWire-Ad-Get-our-mobile-app-1280\u00d790-1\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GVWire-Ad-Get-our-mobile-app-1280x90-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"   width=\"1280\" height=\"90\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While at that location, detectives learned a Caterpillar 950H wheel loader had also been stolen from the property. Investigators followed tire tracks west toward Chateau Fresno Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>During the search, dispatchers received calls reporting a vegetation fire near Chateau Fresno and Mount Whitney avenues. Detectives, patrol deputies and firefighters with CalFire Fresno County responded and found Medford with the stolen wheel loader, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters also discovered evidence that Medford had intentionally set dry grass on fire. Crews used multiple fire engines and a bulldozer to extinguish the blaze. No injuries were reported, and no structures were damaged.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said the stolen equipment has a combined value of about $180,000.<\/p>\n<p>Medford was arrested on suspicion of arson and theft of the two tractors.<\/p>\n<p>Got a Tip?<\/p>\n<p>Although an arrest has been made, authorities are asking anyone with additional information about Medford to contact the Fresno County Sheriff\u2019s Office at (559) 600-3111.<\/p>\n<p>Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867 or online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.valleycrimestoppers.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">www.valleycrimestoppers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities referenced case No. 26-4923.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Connect with\u00a0\u00a0on social media. Got a tip? Send an\u00a0.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno County authorities have arrested a 29-year-old Riverdale man after detectives recovered two stolen pieces of farm equipment&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-295050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}