Police recover riding lawn mower stolen from Dublin High School

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This John Deere Lawn Tractor riding mower stolen from Dublin High School on Feb. 11 has been returned to the campus after police intervention. (Photo courtesy DUSD)

Dublin High School now has one of its most important pieces of grounds maintenance equipment back after city police reportedly recovered the stolen John Deere Lawn Tractor riding mower after finding it available for sale online five days later.

This is how police found the John Deere Lawn Tractor after it was stolen. (Photo courtesy DPS)

Police arrested a Dublin man on suspicion of committing the crime last Friday after allegedly finding the riding mower sitting on a stolen trailer while surveilling the suspect.

“It’s impossible to be more impressed with the quick work of the Dublin Police. The day after being notified of the theft, they located and recovered our property, arrested the suspect, and saved the Dublin taxpayers money. Their partnership is one we always appreciate,” said Chip Dehnert, public information and community relations officer for the Dublin Unified School District.

Dublin Police Services school resource officers received a report on Feb. 16 about a riding lawn mower — valued at approximately $54,000 — being stolen from Dublin High, according to a press release from Sgt. Chris Shepard issued on Tuesday. A review of security video footage showed the mower being towed out of the school’s parking lot in the early-morning hours of Feb. 11.

A short time into their investigation, officers observed the stolen mower for sale on Craigslist and notified police detectives, according to Shepard.

“Dublin Police detectives contacted the suspect online, in an attempt to purchase the lawn mower,” Shepard said. “The detectives also located an additional advertisement on Offer Up for the same mower. In the Offer Up advertisement, detectives recognized a vehicle which was for sale and recalled a previous arrest of a subject in the same vehicle.”

Detectives later positively identified their prime suspect as 45-year-old Dublin resident Damon Cisneros, and they conducted surveillance of the man around 2 p.m. Feb. 17, following him to Livermore, according to Shepard.

The sergeant alleged detectives found the stolen mower loaded atop a trailer that had been reported stolen out of Hayward. Cisneros was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, and the stolen tractor returned to the Dublin High School.