Police get lead on theft of diesel

Police said they found a trap door and a suction system in the truck and trailer.

STAFF REPORT

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Hermitage police are investigating a lead in the theft of 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel from a Tic Toc convenience store on East State Street.

The crime involved a trailer equipped with a stealthy system for sucking out fuel. Police said a phone tip Tuesday led them to North Bloomfield in Trumbull County, where they found the truck and trailer that appear to have been used.

Hermitage Deputy Chief Ed Holiga said the Tic Toc theft occurred April 28. There were two other thefts of fuel in the city, he said, but he did not have details.

The diesel stolen from the store was worth $4,600, said Diane Moore, office manager for Tic Toc Food Mart Inc., which owns seven stores in Mercer and Lawrence counties and Ohio. The stores sell BP fuel.

“We are a small business,” Moore said. “There’s no profit in selling fuel for a small business,” she said, adding that she’s hoping for restitution if there’s an arrest in the case. So far there hasn’t been, police said Wednesday.

The Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department helped Hermitage get a search warrant for property at 2120 Kinsman Road, and the warrant was executed at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

The property and truck are owned by Larry Donaldson, they said.

When police opened the roll-up door in the back of the trailer, they saw a straw wall. Behind it was a wooden partition.

Behind the partition was a large propane tank about 15 feet long. The tank was empty, police said, but smelled of diesel. Large hoses between 1 and 2 inches in diameter were there, along with an assortment of tools, police said.

Police said a pump mechanism involved a vacuum system from the truck’s diesel engine. A hose connected the truck’s engine to the trailer to provide suction.

A large trap door was in the wooden floor of the trailer. A sheet of rubber was suspended around the trap door from the undercarriage of the trailer to conceal the hose from view while fuel was being pumped, police said.

Holiga said thieves could park over underground tanks, take off the lids and pump fuel into the trailer.

No one at the Tic Toc noticed anything unusual the day of the theft, Moore said.

Police seized the truck and trailer. A search of the property also turned up other fuel tanks, including a 5,000-gallon one with an estimated 500 gallons of diesel in it.

Hermitage and Trumbull County are continuing to investigate.