Visalia couple baited thieves, recorded beating them with bat, police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- They look like your typical caught-on-camera moments - thieves taking advantage of a crime of opportunity.

But as Visalia Police Lt. Ron Epp shows us, it's what the homeowners did next, that landed them in jail.

"They would run out, chase down that subject, assault that subject and recover their bike, but they would never call us," Epp said.

Investigators say former theft victims Corey Curnutt and Savannah Grillot lured thieves to their home, with an unattended bike, to take matters into their own hands.

"They're running down the street, yelling, getting into a fight in the middle of the night, which would obviously wake the neighbors up," Epp said.

Epp says the department was first alerted to the bait bike videos in July.

Clips posted to Curnutt's public YouTube account are what helped them make an arrest.

Investigators say there are at least four victims who were beaten with aluminum bats, but there could be more.

"They're reluctant victims, so they're not wanting to come out and say, 'yeah, I was stealing a bike and got assaulted,'" Epp said.

Epp says when it comes to enforcing the law, leave it to the professionals.

Both suspects are in the Tulare county jail and face four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy charges.