85 koi snatched from restaurant’s decorative pond, California cops say

Two people absconded with 85 decorative koi from a pond outside a restaurant, California authorities reported.

The fish were stolen from the Oak House Restaurant in Yucaipa at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 25 news release.

The department provides police services in the community.

Koi are a large, colorful variety of carp, originally bred in Japan.

Surveillance video led deputies to one of the two men accused in the theft, sheriff’s officials said.

They found five of the stolen fish at his home and arrested the 42-year-old Yucaipa man on a charge of grand theft, deputies said.

“The koi fish have since been returned to their grateful owners,” deputies said in the release.

Investigators ask anyone with information on the theft to call 909-918-2305.

Yucaipa is about a 75-mile drive east from Los Angeles.

This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 11:24 AM with the headline "85 koi snatched from restaurant’s decorative pond, California cops say."