Clearwater Police arrested a man they say is responsible for stealing fuel at sixteen different locations, worth tens of thousands of dollars.
26-year-old David Aguilar Martinez was arrested early Friday morning.
Police say they spotted the red van used in several thefts back in April and followed it to a Sunoco Gas Station on Gulf to Bay Boulevard in Clearwater.
When the suspect was pulled over, police say they found drums of fuel inside Martinez’s van along with a pumping system.
They say the floorboards of the van were cut to allow a hose to drop into the underground tanks and siphon fuel. Â
According to authorities, this is a common method used in organized diesel fuel thefts.
