According to investigators with the Florida Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement (OALE), two truck drivers have been arrested in connection with a sophisticated fuel theft scam.
The suspects, Jesus E. Garcia and Ever Sierra, were caught on security footage breaking into fuel pumps at a Love’s Travel Stop in Milton with bolt cutters and manipulating internal mechanisms to siphon nearly 500 gallons of diesel, causing approximately $3,500 in damage, according to investigators.
Both were detained in Polk and Broward counties and face felony accusations of gasoline theft and fraud, which are being prosecuted in Santa Rosa County’s First Judicial Circuit.
In Florida, fuel theft, including the use of equipment to manipulate gas pumps, can result in severe penalties.
In 2023, News 6 was credited with helping to pass legislation that makes using such devices a second- or third-degree felony.
