Candy bars led to jail bars for a 35-year-old desert man caught with a garageful of stolen sweets, say San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

Hesperia resident Jesus N. Ibarra was arrested a 1:14 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at his home along the 13100 block of Modesto Court and booked for investigation of a grand theft of a cargo and possessing stolen property, jail records show. He was released on bail.

The trouble started after Excel Corporation — the West Coast distributor for Mars Candy Company — contracted with a trucking company to haul a load of candy that hadn’t passed inspection to a San Bernardino county location for destruction.

When the truck arrived, about 7,500 pounds of candy were missing, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.

Deputies caught a break when advertisements turned up on Craigslist and a Facebook site for High Desert Deals. That prompted a search warrant for Ibarra’s home.

“Investigators discovered the entire garage had been converted into a candy store with approximately 30 racks of candy…boxes, all of which wee labeled with prices,” according to the statement.

The handcuffs came out, sheriff’s officials said, after investigators learned that the serial numbers on the boxes in the garage matched those on the shipment meant for destruction.