Fuel theft thwarted

A Madera Police Officer noticed a box van with two subjects who appeared to be filling up large containers inside the truck with diesel fuel at Van De Pol Petroleum (Formerly Tesei Petroleum) on Monday at about 4 a.m.

The officer noticed the suspicious activity and also noticed the truck was not displaying the required Department of Transportation information. That led to the arrest of Cesar Perez and Oscar Machado for various charges, including grand theft. 

It was also learned that the same access card used to activate the pumps has been used at the same location in the past, allowing theft of nearly 600 gallons of fuel.