The Napa County Sheriff’s Office arrested three men Thursday suspected of attempting to steal solar panels at a Rutherford vineyard and winery.

At 1:05 a.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to Honig Vineyard and Winery after its security system alerted them of suspicious activity at the vineyard’s solar field, according to spokeswoman Capt. Tracey Stuart.

The security system spooked the suspects, who ran off, she said.

Deputies spotted a blue Toyota 4Runner backed in near some brush east of the field. No suspects were in the area, so a deputy staked out the truck.

At 6:48 a.m., one of the suspects returned to the truck after spending the night in a field near a cattle corral, Stuart said. A rancher had given him a ride back to the truck.

The man, James Deakins, a 43-year-old transient, was arrested and booked at the Napa County Department of Corrections.

At 8:10 a.m., deputies spotted two men walking on Silverado Trail near Skellenger Lane. They stopped the men — Stockton resident Scott Phillips, 36, and Roger Freitas, of Oakley — and arrested them.

All three are held on suspicion of attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit a felony and possession of burglary tools.

Deakins was also booked on suspicion of drug possession, and Phillips was booked on suspicion of committing a felony while out on bail or released on his own recognizance.

Detectives are investigating whether these suspects are connected to any of the 16 solar panel thefts in the county since June 2008.

Various vineyards, mostly in the Rutherford area, the city of Napa and Napa College have lost a total of $400,000 in panels, Stuart said.

Honig Vineyard and Winery has been hit twice before, which prompted owners to install the security system, complete with motion-sensitive cameras linked to personnel who can monitor them, said owner Michael Honig. The previous thefts totaled more than $50,000, not including the damage the thieves did to the property during the burglaries.