How thieves made off with about 1,400 gallons of diesel from a small-town Utah gas station last month remains a mystery, as does who’s behind the thefts.
It’s the kind of heist petroleum marketers say is increasingly attractive as diesel prices soar to over $6 per gallon. As of Thursday, the average price of diesel in Utah was $6.55 a gallon, according to AAA.
“It’s not the ornery kid down the road that’s doing this,” said Mike Bailey, a member of the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association who works in Riverton. “They know what they’re doing.”
The thefts happened over two early mornings Sept. 15 and 18 at the Sinclair station in Meadow, Utah, a small community along Interstate 15 in western Utah.
The thieves managed to haul away thousands of dollars worth of fuel before anyone realized it was gone. The thefts happened while the station was closed, at around 1 a.m. each day, according to a statement from the Millard County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office.
Bypassed The Pump
Capt. Patrick Bennett said there are likely two suspects, but they haven’t yet been identified.
“Somehow they were able to bypass the pump and turn it on so they were able to just take (the fuel),” Bennett said.
The theft wasn’t reported to the sheriff’s office until Sept. 28, 10 days after the second incident.
That delay isn't necessarily unusual, Bennett told Cowboy State Daily, adding that “it would have taken some time for them to notice."
The sheriff’s office has circulated images of the suspects and vehicle in hopes of generating leads.
Bennett said investigators also have received information from other law enforcement agencies across states indicating similar thefts have happened elsewhere.
He declined to provide details about how the thieves pulled off the heist because the investigation remains ongoing. He also declined to share where else similar thefts have occurred.
Not Your Average Gas-And-Dash
Stealing 1,400 gallons of diesel is considerably more complicated than driving away from the pump without paying.
Petroleum industry representatives told Cowboy State Daily that sophisticated fuel thieves can modify vehicles to carry enormous quantities of fuel and manipulate equipment at gas stations to get it.
“They’ve figured out a way, and they’re across state lines before anyone knows what hit them,” Bailey said.
Grier Bailey, executive director of the Colorado/Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, said he knows that thieves manipulate station equipment but declined to explain how.
Equipment manufacturers and distributors are developing ways to make those thefts more difficult, he said, including specialized locks and alarms on components targeted by thieves.
“There is a balance between environmentally required access and theft,” Grier Bailey said.
A station owner also might not immediately realize hundreds, or even thousands, of gallons have disappeared.
“It’s possible you could not notice it until you’re doing an inventory reconciliation and see it’s gone,” said Mike Bailey.
Wyoming Has Geography On Its Side
Mike Bailey said he's not aware of a fuel theft in Wyoming approaching the scale of the Utah case.
One reason may be the reality that all Wyomingites know: Everything is a long way from everything else.
Organized thieves can make more money in densely populated areas where numerous stations can be targeted quickly. Wyoming's long distances between communities make that more difficult.
“They could hit 17 gas stations in Denver before anyone knew what hit them,” said Mike Bailey.
The people behind large-scale fuel thefts are often organized criminals who travel from state to state and have vehicles rigged to carry the extra fuel, he said.
Wyoming's wide-open spaces and relatively sparse population don't eliminate the risk, but they can make the state a less efficient target.
10-Cent Candy Or A $10,000 Watch?
Diesel averaged $6.22 a gallon in Wyoming on Thursday, according to AAA, up from about $3.57 a gallon a year ago.
The national diesel average was about $6.39 Thursday, compared with $3.71 a year earlier.
At current Wyoming retail prices, 1,400 gallons of diesel would be worth roughly $8,700.
The higher prices make fuel an increasingly lucrative target, Mike Bailey said.
“Are you going to steal 10-cent candy or a $10,000 watch?” he said.
But the sticker price at the pump can give consumers the wrong impression about how much money the gas station is making.
Fuel is a notoriously low-margin product, and station owners have to pay elevated wholesale prices before selling it to customers, he said.
“We’re not making any more per gallon at $6 than at $3,” Mike Bailey said.
For a small or family-owned station, losing 1,400 gallons in one shot can be particularly painful.
“The owner of that station just took an almost $6,000 hit,” Grier Bailey said. “So, it's significant, and that is very important money relative to cash flow and credit lines, especially for smaller and family-owned stations and companies.”
Many independent fuel retailers operate with revolving lines of credit, he said. When wholesale fuel prices climb, they need considerably more cash just to keep their underground tanks filled.
That means a large theft doesn't necessarily hurt only the station owner. The stolen fuel represents money the retailer now doesn't have available to purchase the next load.
Diesel is also critical to trucking companies, construction crews, agriculture, school districts and government fleets, Grier Bailey said.
“What these people are doing is hurting people, many of whom are already on the edge,” he said.
No One Knows How Much Is Stolen
It's difficult to say how much fuel is stolen from Wyoming stations each year.
The Colorado/Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association doesn't track statewide diesel theft figures, Grier Bailey said, and retailers aren't required to report stolen fuel to the state.
“But maybe we should start,” he said.
Wyoming law treats theft of property worth $1,000 or more as a felony. A conviction can carry up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
But organized thieves who cross state lines can present another challenge: who prosecutes them, and where?
Mike Bailey said he'd like to see states cooperate more closely on cases involving organized fuel theft.
“I think one thing that would help is if these states have agreement between them that they could prosecute across state lines,” he said.
Grier Bailey agreed.
“Maybe we should explore creating a multi-state MOU between AGs that would allow one state to aggregate theft cases,” he said.
For now, investigators in Utah are still trying to identify whoever drove away from the Meadow Sinclair with enough diesel to fill the tanks of dozens of pickups.
And with diesel selling for nearly twice what it did a year ago, petroleum marketers say what disappeared from beneath that Utah gas station isn't just fuel.
It's increasingly valuable cargo.
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
