Santa Rosa man reunited with stolen goats after tip from community member

A Santa Rosa man was reunited with three of his stolen goats thanks to a tip from a community member, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said on Monday.

On Sept. 17, three goats belonging to Shawn Ganapoler were stolen from his Santa Rosa home. Ganapoler told KPIX he has a strong bond with the goats, Nacho, Atlas and Chili, and that they're like family.

He said one of the goats that was taken holds a special place in his heart.

"Nacho is the first goat that I got," he said. "I hand raised and bottled-raised. He's really big. He's probably about 150, 160 pounds. He's very vocal. He's got a lot of character and he's very very affectionate. He really likes to lay down and cuddle with you. If you lay out on the field with him, he'll lay down and cuddle with you."

The goats were recovered after someone called law enforcement on Sept. 27. According to the sheriff's office, news stories about the stolen goats led the caller to suspect the goats his family had recently bought may be the ones that were stolen.

Detectives and Ganapoler then went to a Cotati home and verified the goats as being Nacho and Atlas.

The sheriff's office said the family told them that they had bought the goats from 48-year-old Santa Rosa resident Agustin Alcazar-Varelas.

He was found at his home on the 3000 block of Moorland Avenue, according to the sheriff's office. A probation search was conducted, and detectives, along with Santa Rosa police, located the last stolen goat, Chili.

All three goats were returned home.

Alcazar-Varelas was arrested on suspicion of felony grand theft of animals, misdemeanor drug possession, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of probation.

The sheriff's office said he was cited for charges associated with the case and released on a $20,000 bail for the probation violation.

Detectives are still investigating the case and looking for the woman who was seen in surveillance video when the goats were taken.