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Ramona
Hatfield Creek Winery
Hatfield Creek Winery robbery
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March 2025 Articles
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By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: photos of some items stolen Feb. 23 from Hatfield Creek Winery’s owner

 

March 6, 2025 (Ramona) – The Sheriff’s department seeks public help to find robbers who stole nearly $15,000 worth of jewelry and collectible coins from the owner’s home at Hatfield Creek Vineyard and Winery on State Route 78 in Ramona.

 

Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thieves, who may have targeted two other Ramona wineries on the same day, February 23. 

 

The suspects are described as two heavy-set, possibly Hispanic men, says Sergeant Daniel Sloppye.  The men are believed to have committed the crime at Hatfield Creek Winery around 4 p.m.  

 

Between 3:45 and 5 p.m., two other wineries nearby, Barrel 1 Winery and Correcaminos Vineyard and Winery, both reported suspicious persons, 

 
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the owner of the Barrel 1 Winery says two men in their 20s or 30s  knocked on the door of her home that afternoon. They asked where the tasting room, then drove off without visiting it. She described their vehicle as an older black four-door Mercedes Benz.  The owner of Correcaminos said her husband went into their home to feed their two dogs and found two young men inside who ran off when the dogs barked, then drove away in a black sedan.
 

Sgt, Sloppye says no crime reports were filed, because no thefts took place at the other two wineries. “As a precaution, deputies are conducting extra patrols at wineries in the Ramona area,” he says.

 

Photo, right, by Miriam Raftery: Hatfield Creek Vineyards Owner Elaine Lyttleton

 

Hatfield Creek Vineyards and Winery owner Elaine Lyttleton told the Union-Tribune that the stolen jewelry includes an antique ring given to her mother by her godmother in 1925.  “That was my wedding band that can never be replaced with anything,” she said. Other pieces were gifts bequeathed to Lyttleton by her best friend.
 

Anyone with information about the home burglary or the stolen items is asked to call the San Diego County Sheriff's Office at (858) 868-3200. You can also call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.  Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case. 
 

Visit www.sdcrimestoppers.org for information on how to send web or mobile app tips.

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