Accused fuel thieves arrested in Volusia County, deputies say

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla – New body-worn camera videos show the arrest of two men in Volusia County accused of stealing diesel fuel.

According to an affidavit, around 9 p.m. Saturday, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office was notified of a black minivan marked as a suspicious vehicle in a diesel fuel extraction ring outside Seminole County. Much of the next half hour was spent pursuing the vehicle, noting another gold-colored minivan that may have been following it, the affidavit states.

At 9:30 p.m., an officer in an unmarked patrol car had approached the gold minivan, which was parked above the fuel intake port at a RaceTrac gas station on Deltona Boulevard near DeBary for about 15 minutes before continuing to a nearby Waffle House. according to the sheriff's office.

Another officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the van because it was unregistered. But after it became clear there was no one in the vehicle, Waffle House employees pointed officers to a man who had just walked away and then ran to the officers turning on their emergency lights, the affidavit said.

After a chase, 33-year-old Henry Gonzalez Ortega of Hialeah was arrested behind the aforementioned RaceTrac. Meanwhile, officers searching the area across Interstate 4 located the black minivan and located its driver, 35-year-old Jose Garcia Aguila of Orlando.

Officers said there were two red 5-gallon gas cans and a clear hose inside the black minivan, while the gold minivan's rear windows were tinted so that nothing could be seen through them from the outside. However, officers reportedly discovered an auxiliary fuel tank behind the passenger seat in that minivan and also noted that the vehicle's underbody was closer to the ground than normal.

Both men were taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail and face charges of theft and illegal transportation of fuel, the sheriff's office said on social media.

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