Treasure, Territory, and Tension: The Cave Conflict in Pomona

Pomona Village is once again in the spotlight, this time, over a piece of land that’s stirring up more than just dust. At the center of it all is thirty-five-year-old Samuel Trejo. By day, he’s a hardworking laborer at Silk Grass Farms and a skilled motorcycle mechanic. But now, his land has become the latest flashpoint in an ongoing dispute involving Stoney Fergusson, one we first told you about last week. Since Samuel spoke out, the situation has only heated up. So, we sent News Five’s Tanya Arceo to the area to hear directly from the people caught in the middle of this growing land battle. Here’s that story.

 

Tanya Arceo, Reporting

Imagine living on a piece of land for over twenty years… and only recently discovering there’s a cave hidden beneath your feet. That’s exactly what happened to Samuel Trejo, a hardworking mechanic and farm laborer in Pomona. He says he had no clue the cave was there, until he started clearing the land. Since then, it’s become a magnet for curious visitors, both local and foreign. But with the spotlight has come serious tension. Samuel now fears for his safety, and here’s why: he says he found something valuable inside that cave, something he calls a treasure. But another man, Stoney Fergusson, is now claiming the cave, and the discovery, as his. He’s calling it a relic: a stone tapir with striking blue eyes.

 

Samuel Trejo, Property Owner

“Like three months to four months I could say he come and ask me for permission to  come to the cave because then he no have no where else to come in right and I tell him yeah he could come cause I know him long time so he come and he say only the cave but afterwords like how I go da work I no know what the happen that day so when I come I find my things it was damaged and I tell him da weh di happen that was not the deal you she you mi a work the cave not my property and he she well make I tell you something he she I no di ask you I di tell you this places are for me all the coconuts everything in yeah da fu me you cant pick none so the other day my sister came and wan pick one mango he chase her and she gone crying and tell my dad the man no want I pick up a mango and my dad come and tell ah what the happen and even call Mr. Rodwell fu come and talk and Mr. Rodwell she fu we papers no value.”

 

He’s already gone to the police but says this is his last hope. Samuel Trejo walked us through every inch of the disputed land, even down to the cave that’s now at the center of all the drama. He’s showing the public exactly what’s at stake, before things get out of hand.

 

 

 

 

Tanya Arceo

“And what is exactly in this property that Stoney wants from this cave?

 

Samuel Trejo

Well I no know how fu say it but fu him friends weh me di work den find treasure he say I no know nothing about it the man show me one I no know bout treasure cause I just snap a picture of one that he make a I could snap a picture

 

Tanya Arceo

Give me the details of what type of treasure what exactly was found here?

 

Samuel Trejo

The first one they give Stoney them say da one tapir mek out a stone blue eyes blue gem in a his eyes he said that he give Stoney fu mek he see it and Stoney hurry pack it and ker it to his dad I have fourteen years di live yeah without light but new have this land from before that long long time musi like twenty years fan lee buay I know this cave yeah so I di travel this cave long time.”

 

 

 

Samuel Trejo says he had no idea a cave on his land held anything valuable—until about a month ago, when he snapped a photo of what he believes is a stone relic. Since then, the site has attracted curious visitors, but Samuel says they’re not the issue. The real conflict, he claims, is with Stoney Fergusson, who’s now laying claim to the cave and the artifact. What started as a disagreement has turned hostile, and Samuel says he’s scared. Despite reaching out to the authorities, he feels nothing has been done. I’m Tanya Arceo, reporting for News Five.