Davis Man Accused Of Stealing Nearly $1,000 Worth Of Steaks From Co-Op

DAVIS (CBS13) – A Davis man is behind bars accused of stealing a large number of steaks.

Davis police say Joseph Lopez, 25, broke into the Davis Food Co-Op in the overnight hours and walked out with some wine and nearly $1,000 worth of high-end cuts.

"This is all organic, top-shelf stuff," said Davis Deputy Police Chief Paul Doroshov.

The heist was surprising to some co-op customers.

"You wonder what someone's motivation is and what are they going to do with it," said Jay Mendez, a customer.

Officers served a search warrant and say they found the steaks stashed away inside Lopez's apartment.

"He had some in the refrigerator and he froze the rest. We found it in his freezer," Doroshov said. "We can't put it into our evidence because it's going to go bad, and there's no real reason to keep it, so we released it all back to the store."

A store employee says the meat was donated to a local group that gives away food to those in need. Detectives interviewed Lopez - but in the end, they couldn't determine why the steaks were stolen.

"This is just one of those strange crimes that we'll never figure out," Doroshov said.

Lopez was also charged with breaking into two other downtown Davis businesses, but police don't think he took anything.