CRIME
Suspect arrested for stealing up to 1,000 gallons of fuel, police say
KANE COUNTY, Utah — A suspect is in jail after allegedly stealing thousands of gallons of fuel in Utah, according to police.
Alexander Rodriguez Padilla, 39, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was booked into the Kane County Jail for three second-degree felony theft charges and three related misdemeanor charges on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Kane County Sheriff’s Office detectives were alerted about a diesel fuel theft on Dec. 3 at Ramsay’s Shell gas station in Mt. Carmel, Utah.
Security footage showed two modified vehicles parked on opposite sides of a fuel pump at approximately 1 a.m., according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
“One vehicle was a modified semi-truck with several holding tanks and the other was a Dodge pickup with tanks in the bed,” reads the sheriff’s office statement. “The suspects were able to break into the pumps and manipulate the machinery to pump as long as they needed to fill all of their tanks.
The suspects returned a second time around midnight of the same day and stole about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Police discovered that the suspects stole about 1,000 gallons of fuel from another Ramsay’s Shell gas station in Kanab, Utah, on Nov. 4.
The Kane County Sheriff’s Office released information about the thefts on Wednesday.
On Thursday, an individual who saw reporting of the thefts noticed the semi-truck at a Maverick Station in Cedar City, Utah, and called the police, according to the statement. Local police soon arrested the truck and the driver without further issue.
Police identified the driver as Padilla, who asked for an attorney and was booked into jail.
The Kane County Sheriff’s Office believes that Padilla is a part of an organized crime ring involved in similar thefts across Utah. Detectives gave found other gas stations in Kanab that have seen similar thefts.
In Kane County, police believe they have stolen over $15,000 worth of gas.
