MILLERSVILLE, Md. — Four men, including a Baltimore City School Police officer, were arrested Monday for stealing more than 750 gallons of diesel fuel.
Officers said school resource officer, 32-year-old Xavier Harper, has been suspended without pay for his role in the theft.
True Lee, who works for 1111 Trucking out of Baltimore filling up petroleum tanks like you’ll find at the New Transit Truck Stop on Veterans Highway in Millersville, and said she is concerned the sky-high prices will drive others to steal fuel like those diesel thieves.
“You’ve got to think about the time that we’re living in,” Lee said. "The price, I mean it’s affecting everybody so right now you’ve got to watch the gas and the diesel. As you can see, 750 gallons gone.”
Anne Arundel County Police discovered inside a U-Haul outfitted with large industrial containers inside it on Memorial Day after a worker at the truck stop called to report a theft in progress around five o’clock in the morning.
“Somehow those suspects have devised a way to override the pump system to get it to operate and there were just gallons---750 gallons of diesel fuel,” said Cpl. Chris Anderson of the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
Officers arrested the four men who were sitting in a nearby gold Chevrolet Suburban apparently waiting for the containers to fill.
This may not have been the thieves first time.
Managers at the truck stop told officers two men in the same U-Haul had been there two weeks ago and had stolen diesel fuel as well.
It is a crime that is on the rise across the country, and with diesel fetching about six dollars per gallon, demand is high for the fuel at lower costs no questions asked.
“They’re afraid to go out of business nowadays so they think they’re protecting their companies, but they’re really hurting them, and then you got the guys that actually got caught so who really wins? No one really wins,” said Lee. “We need to look at other things instead of taking from someone else.”
