Photo: Stock Image
Originally Published By: The City of Chico
“On 12/21/21, Chico Police Officers responded to a report of a large amount of solar panels and equipment stolen from Chico Electric. The case was assigned to the Chico Police Detective Bureau for follow-up. Detectives soon discovered indications that this was an “inside job.” Detectives began looking into a theory that a former employee, Christopher Raygoza (39 yrs old), may have stolen the solar equipment before leaving the business for other employment.
Chico Police Detectives received information that Raygoza’s brother recently had the same type of panels installed on his residence. Detectives obtained a search warrant to search Raygoza’s brother’s residence for solar panels and other property stolen from the warehouse. Detectives served the search warrant on January 2022 and confirmed that the property was in fact stolen. The stolen property was retrieved from the rooftop and released back to Chico Electric. Detectives authored an arrest warrant for Raygoza, however, they were unable to locate him until today, 4/26/23. Raygoza was landscaping on Hwy 99 when he was spotted by a subject familiar with the case. Detectives and Patrol Officers responded to the area and took Raygoza into custody without incident. Raygoza was transported to Chico Police Department for booking.”
