Calif. couple lures would-be-thieves to property and beats them, say police - East Idaho News
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Calif. couple lures would-be-thieves to property and beats them, say police

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VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE) – A couple in Visalia faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy after Visalia police said they lured people onto their property to steal an unsecured bike and beat them with baseball bats and posting the attacks to social media.

Officers said it happened multiple times from July-November at a house on Dove St.

The couple has been identified as 25-year-old Corey Curnutt and 29-year-old Savannah Grillot.

According to a neighbor, the couple moved several weeks ago to the Lemoore Naval Base. A Navy spokesperson did confirm Grillot is a Navy sailor assigned to Lemoore.

“So here, we have the bicycle unattended,” said Visalia Police Sgt. Celeste Sanchez as she shows a video taken from the couple’s YouTube page. “Now he has gotten on the bike.

In the video, you can see the man take the bike off of the couple’s property.

Moments later, you see Grillot and Curnutt run out of their home with bats in their hands.

Police said the couple would run after the people who took the bike and assault them.

“They were beaten with the bats and severely injured,” said Sanchez.

Officers said they discovered during the investigation that the couple would plant the bike as a decoy throughout July to November.

If someone took the bait, officers said the couple would film the entire series of events and post it to YouTube and Facebook.

“I was surprised that no one reported them soon,” said neighbor Kerris LeBeau. “It was almost every night for a minute.

LeBeau said at first, the neighborhood supported the couple, even thanking them for keeping thieves out of their street.

However, the support quickly diminished once people got seriously injured.

“You know, I am not for not protecting your property,” said LeBeau. “Protect your property, but at the same time, there is a line when they are starting to kind of bait them and do it for other reasons. Because they were filming it and they were putting it online and getting a lot of support for it.”

Sanchez said at least one of the victims was treated for their injuries at the hospital.

“Definitely disturbing,” said Sanchez. “I would definitely be concerned and I would definitely like action to be taken for what has been done to these victims.”

The Navy is investigating Grillot for the incident but would not say whether or not she will continue to serve with the branch.

This story first appeared on fellow CNN affiliate KSEE. It is used here with permission.

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