2 men arrested after allegedly stealing hundreds of gallons of fuel for $1
CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Two men are facing felony charges after allegedly using a large, aftermarket manufactured gas tank to steal hundreds of gallons of fuel from pumps for as little as $1 across southern Utah.
Yoandri Cabrera Rodriguez, 40, and Maikel Moreno Dupeiron, 37, were arrested Monday on four third-degree counts of possess forgery writing/device, as well as one class B misdemeanor count of manufacture/possess burglary tools.
Rodriguez was also arrested for one class A misdemeanor count of alter vehicle compartment for contraband, the Cedar City Police Department said.
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Just after 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, a Cedar City police officer was at the Love’s gas station when he saw a silver Dodge Ram pull in. The officer said he recognized that vehicle from a fuel theft case out of Kane and Sevier counties.
The truck reportedly had a flatbed built on the back and two large compartments that appeared to be toolboxes. However, the officer said the compartments were being used to store large amounts of fuel that had been stolen out of different gas stations across southern Utah.
The officer said that during the thefts, the truck would pull up to the gas pumps and disable the counter, allowing large amounts of fuel to be stolen.
The pumps would reportedly charge as little as $1 for 300-400 gallons of fuel.
As the suspect truck was leaving Love’s, the officer said he pulled it over for window tint and license plate violations. The officer spoke to the driver, identified as Rodriguez, and the passenger, identified as Dupeiron.
During the stop, the officer said he became suspicious of further criminal activity and asked to search the vehicle, where he found three skimming devices, a touchpad, a credit card reader/writer, and keys that were used to access the inside of gas pumps to place the skimming devices.
Later, officers found the whole truck bed was being used as a large aftermarket manufactured gas tank to steal fuel from the fuel pumps. A large hose and pump were reportedly attached to the bottom of the truck to rapidly off-load the fuel.
Both Rodriguez and Dupeiron were taken into custody and booked into the Iron County Jail.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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