Yuma County Sheriff’s Office –
The sheriff’s office is urging citizens of Yuma County, and the area, to be on alert, as there have been a string of gasoline thefts totaling around $10,000 occurring in Dundy County in Nebraska. According to a press release from the Dundy County Sheriff’s Office, on Sunday, January 28th, they were advised by a Kwik Stop Gas Station of some suspicious vehicles that were at the gas station, which matched descriptions of vehicles that were used in prior fuel thefts in Nebraska.
An investigating deputy and a gas station attendant noticed these vehicles, as there were 4 of them. There were 2 cab-over short-nosed trucks, one was a white box truck, the other was similar to a stake truck with wooden sides attached to the frame to hide what’s in the bed. There was also a former fire truck that was red in color, with a fuel tank in the back and with the number 41 in gold letters on it, as well as a white-colored Ford F-150 crew cab 4-door pickup truck. No license plates were given, as the deputy who was trying to get those numbers was boxed in by the group on the roadway and was run off the road.
The Dundy County Sheriff’s Office initiated a stop of the white box truck matching the description of one the fuel-theft vehicles, on HWY 34 west of Haigler. After an investigation, 2 females and a male were arrested for the theft of approximately 3,900 gallons of fuel from the St. Francis Equity fuel station located in Haigler, Nebraska. A search warrant was executed on the impounded box truck, as thousands of gallons of diesel fuel was discovered in chemical totes inside, totaling over $10,000 of stolen fuel.
All 3 individuals arrested are being charged with Class II Theft and transported to the Lincoln County Jail. There could be other incidents like this around the region, so police are asking everyone to be on alert and report anything suspicious.