Man arrested in theft of 7,400 gallons of diesel
A Houston man was charged with aggravated robbery Thursday in the brazen theft of a tractor trailer hauling more than 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Police said Kenneth O’Brian Payne, 38, hijacked the tanker truck about 3 a.m. Monday soon after the driver finished topping off the load of fuel.
HPD investigators arrested him about 3 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 5300 block of Lelia, police said.
“He’s in custody right now,” said Victor Senties, an HPD spokesman.
The stolen tanker truck was recovered later that day. HPD officials would not disclose where it was discovered, citing their ongoing investigation.
“They’re still looking into some other possible suspects,” Senties said.
About half of the 7,400 gallons of diesel fuel was missing when police found the tanker truck, officials said.
A trucking industry security expert said stolen fuel often finds its way to the black market, where the thieves generally make about 50 percent of the market price.
“But you’re still talking about a big chunk of change,” said Jim Sutton, director of Highway Watch, which is part of the American Trucking Associations.
Sutton said armed hijackings are rare — the vast majority of truck thefts happen because a driver left the keys in the cab or the ignition is hotwired. He said multiple suspects were probably involved in Monday’s hijacking.
“You need a criminal enterprise to get rid of the contraband as soon as possible,” said Sutton.
Police said the driver was pulling away from a fueling station along Texas 225 when Payne, apparently armed with a weapon, jumped into the cab.
Police said he told the driver to head toward the South Loop and the Gulf Freeway. He later switched seats and ordered the driver out of the truck before fleeing.
Payne received a prison sentence of three years in March 1997 after his conviction for aggravated assault on a police officer.
He was in custody Thursday for the armed robbery, with bail set at $40,000.
Source: The Associated Press
Tags: crime, fuel costs, fuel thiefs