Van parked over gas tanks, siphoned fuel from down below

Flatonia police broke up a sophisticated fuel theft operation last week, when Officer Wilbert “Billy” Kalina was on patrol at about 1:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27, and he noticed a suspicious vehicle at the Citgo convenience store, located on the south side of town at the corner of South Main Street and Highway 95.

Police Chief Lee Dick said Kalina was soon joined by Sgt. Trey Tunis along with Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies Cody Williams and Duane Meagher. Kalina and Tunis soon determined that the van’s three occupants, all from the Austin area, had cut the lock to the store’s underground fuel tank cover and were reportedly stealing gas.

The officers took them into custody for breaking into the tank. Williams and Meagher hauled the three to the Dan R. Beck Justice Center in La Grange. The following day, Dick said that he, along with Flatonia Police Investigator Geneva Titus and Officer Taylor Amos, discovered an abandoned van parked about two blocks 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 atop belowground fuel storage tanks and then siphon hundreds of gallons of fuel in the matter of minutes without ever stepping out of the vehicle.

The police chief 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 were involved in those thefts, but the case remains under investigation.

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

Andy Behlen is a news writer for The Fayette County Record. His story appears here as part of an occasional story sharing agreement between the Eagle and their publication.