Van Was Parking Above Gas Tanks, Siphoning Fuel Inside

Flatonia Police broke up a sophisticated fuel theft operation last week.

Police Chief Lee Dick said Officer Wilbert “Billy” Kalina was on patrol around 1:30 a.m. last Monday, Nov. 27, when he noticed a suspicious vehicle at the Citgo convenience store at the corner of S. Main St. and Hwy. 95 on the south side of town. Sgt. Trey Tunis arrived to assist along with Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies Cody Williams and Duane Meagher.

Kalina and Tunis determined that three individuals in the vehicle, all from the Austin area, had cut the lock to the cover of the store’s underground fuel tank. The officers arrested the three individuals for breaking into the tank. Williams and Meagher transported them to the Dan R. Beck Justice Center in La Grange.

During the ensuing investigation the following day, Dick said that he, along with Flatonia Police Investigator Geneva Titus and Officer Taylor Amos, discovered an abandoned van that was parked about two blocks away from the store. They opened the van and found that it contained large tanks, pumps and hoses. A hole had been cut in the floor of the van.

Dick said the retrofitted van allowed the thieves to park on top of the underground tank and siphon hundreds of gallons of fuel in the matter of minutes without ever stepping out of the vehicle. He said the suspects likely intended to sell the stolen fuel to others at a discounted rate.

“We know there have been a series of ongoing thefts of this type in the area,” Dick said.

Dick said he believes the suspects arrested early Monday morning were involved in those thefts.

The case remains under investigation.

“We’re working with several law enforcement agencies, both locally and at the state level,” Dick said.