Avocado thief ordered to stay away from groves, avocados

In what must be one of the most interesting sentences of the year, a San Diego, CA man who admitted to being an avocado thief was prohibited from entering any avocado-bearing groves – but that’s not even the strange part.

Former tow-truck driver Barron Stein, 44, is now prohibited from owning more than 10 avocados at a time, thanks to the judge’s ruling. The sentence was handed down to Stein after he stole between 600 to 1,000 pounds of avocados from a San Diego county grove in March.

According to a report by the North County Times, Stein had been unemployed for over a year and was desperate to provide for his family, leading him to pull off his avocado heist. The 600-1,000 pounds of avocados are said to have been worth around $1,500.

Assuming he abides by the bizarre terms of his three-year probation, Stein will be able to avoid jail time. Should he step into the wrong grove or own one too many avocados, however, he could be facing up to 180 days of jail time.

In addition to being ordered to steer clear from avocados, the avocado thief has been ordered to carry out community service, and there’s even the possibility he’ll have to pay restitution to the grove’s owners.

Source: North County Times