Two Arrested for New Type Of Fuel-Stealing Scam Here

La Grange Police arrested two men from Round Rock for a new type of fuel-stealing scam.

Oscar Lewis Jimenez-Garcia, 34, and David Sanchez Rojas, 33, were arrested last week for organized retail theft, a state jail felony. Rojas was also charged with two counts of violating motor fuel tax requirements.

The theft occurred at Texas One Stop on October 25 at around 8 a.m. La Grange Police Chief David said a Ford f-150 pickup and a Nissan pickup pulled next to a diesel pump at Texas One Stop. He said the two men then placed a device inside the diesel pump. The device was designed to manipulate the flow of diesel at the pump. The device slows the flow of diesel to the pump’s meter while pumping fuel out of the nozzle at the regular rate of flow.

The suspects stole 240 gallons of diesel. Gilbreath said the theft occurred in a matter of minutes. He said it took longer for fuel to pump than it did for the suspects to attach the device to the pump. Gilbreath said the suspects pumped the fuel into tanks located in the beds of the two pickups.

“Thanks to the Texas One Stop camera system, the La Grange Police Department was able to identify the suspects, and warrants for their arrest were issued. If it wasn’t for the cameras, we wouldn’t know who they were.”

Gilbreath said the Texas Rangers and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the case.

Cases involving these new fuel pump manipulators have been popping up around the nation in recent months. Criminals can build the devices with parts commonly available at hardware stores. It takes only seconds for them to break open a fuel pump and install the device.