WEATHER
A suspect was arrested last Wednesday for stealing thousands of gallons of gas along the Interstate 5 corridor — including 208 gallons from a gas station in Gig Harbor.
David Beltran Torres, 36, is suspected of stealing $780 worth of gasoline from the Shell station at 7101 Pioneer Way two weeks ago. The theft was captured on surveillance tape.
Torres is believed to have drained 20,000 gallons from 15 stations between Bellingham and Oregon, and then resold the gas at half price to construction business owners.
“This was a good case,” said Gig Harbor Police Chief Mike Davis. “It was a good partnership with (Pierce and) King County.”
Davis emphasized how important the surveillance tape was in apprehending the suspect. He encouraged other gas stations in Gig Harbor “to start upgrading their video” to digital in order to prevent further thefts.
There were a series of similar gas thefts in King County last month. In all cases, a man in an orange vest driving a red or maroon pickup truck pulled up a gas pump and removed dozens of gallons of gas without paying.
Torres owns a maroon 2006 Nissan Titan with California license plates. He was pulled over last week in Lakewood after failing to yield to a police car.
The detective recognized that Torres’ truck matched the description of the gas thief’s car, Davis said. The suspect initially resisted arrest and was subdued with a taser.
When the truck was searched, an orange vest and a $25 Shell gift card were discovered. It is suspected that the gift card was used to bypass the gas pump mechanism that records the dollar amount of gas dispensed.
Detectives from both the GHPD and King County Sheriff’s department interviewed Torres before he was booked on theft and trafficking stolen property. Gig Harbor Police Det. Fred Douglas was actively involved in the case.
“He really went with this (and) developed a good relationship with the Pierce County guys,” Davis said. “That’s what police work is all about.”
Torres, a convicted felon, is currently being detained at the King County Jail on an outstanding Department of Corrections arrest warrant for escaping from community custody. He will remain there while the sheriff’s office prepares information for the prosecutor on the case, said King County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.
“He’s still in jail on his DOC warrant,” Urquhart said. “He’s not going anywhere.”
The sheriff’s department is still attempting to determine other gas stations that were victims of theft. Urquhart said it is “almost likely, as opposed to possible” that other stations were hit but have not yet realized the loss.
“He’s taken this gasoline, and until the gas station operators reconcile their inventory, they don’t know they’ve suffered a loss,” he said.
Urquhart said that because Torres is suspected of bypassing the system that records gas when it’s dispensed, gas station owners will not immediately recognize the theft until they re-count all of their gallons of gasoline.
Davis added that is also unlikely that law enforcement will know which businesses purchased the stolen gasoline. At this time, Torres has not disclosed any of this business partners.
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