Grain thief caught

An El Cajon man is under arrest after being caught stealing grain from the Santee headquarters of Twisted Manzanita Ales, a noted East County microbrewery/distillery.

Twisted Manzanita had previously reported four separate thefts of spent grain, a byproduct of the brewing process, to sheriff's deputies. The grain, usually resold as animal feed, had an estimated value in excess of $2000.

Early Tuesday morning (May 19), Santee detectives were conducting surveillance on the brewery. At around 5:30 in the morning, according to a report from Sgt. Joel Stranger, they observed 32-year-old William Aston back a pickup truck into the grain storage area and load up on about 450 pounds of spent grain.

Deputies approached Aston as he attempted to leave and discovered that he already had an outstanding arrest warrant for an unrelated case. A search of his truck turned up firearm ammunition, which Aston is prohibited from possessing due to a prior felony conviction.

He was arrested on charges including the outstanding warrant, theft, and ammunition possession. The grain was returned to Twisted Manzanita's stock.