Three Garland suspects arrested in connection to theft of thousands of gallons of fuel
The Garland Police Department is investigating a string of thefts involving suspects accused of stealing thousands of gallons of gasoline from multiple North Texas stores.
Garland detectives said that over 18,000 gallons of fuel was stolen from the Ricky Rockets Fuel station located at 1910 S. Jupiter Road. Detectives believe the suspects utilized a “complicated system” that included a box truck with an internal storage system.
Garland detectives found a vehicle on Thursday believed to be involved in the theft ring.
Detectives monitored the vehicle as it traveled to Bowie and Franklin Counties. Bowie County is about three hours east of Fort Worth and Franklin County is about two and a half hours away
The suspects with the vehicle were stealing fuel when troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety and Garland detectives interrupted their efforts and arrested three men, police said.
At the time of the arrests, the suspects were in possession of over 1,500 gallons of stolen fuel, according to police.
The suspects are identified as 30-year-old Julio Benitez-Hernandez, 42-year-old Joxan Santos-Legon, and 30-year-old Rafael Vazquez-Unzaga. They were transported to Bowie County Jail.
The three suspects are facing fuel-related theft charges in Garland, as well as in Bowie and Franklin Counties.
This is an ongoing investigation.
The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center and the Texas Comptroller’s Office also assisted in this investigation.
This story was originally published April 14, 2023 at 7:29 PM.
