Six arrested after gas station heists

They allegedly took 30,000 gallons of fuel during a series of robberies

Police in Sunnyvale said they had arrested six men in a series of robberies of a gas station that netted some 30,000 gallons of gasoline — a haul authorities estimated was worth at least $180,000.

On Dec. 17, officers responded to reports of a theft in progress at the Valero gas station at 1097 E. Duane, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. A store employee recognized one of the three suspects from a previous incident in which he allegedly gained access to a computer on a pump in order to steal gasoline.

The suspect had a prior felony affidavit out for his arrest, and was arrested alongside two other suspects at the scene.

Upon further inspection of surveillance video, authorities said, police saw one of the suspects activate a gas pump computer, allowing another suspect to pump fuel into his vehicle. Officers also saw a suspect place a bag into a garbage can. After a search, officers said they found more than 160 grams of methamphetamine and 13 pills with tadalafil, a prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction.

An employee from the Valero station, who declined to give their name, called the process the gas thieves used “nearly untraceable.”

“You must have a deep understanding of how the pump system works,” the person said. “There is a time frame anywhere from 75 seconds to two minutes for the authorization to go through the network. In this (time period), there's an opportunity to manipulate the pump … You're able to manipulate the pump and confuse the programming to an extent that the pump starts dispensing gas.”

All three men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, petty theft and possessing or receiving stolen property. One man also was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized computer access to defraud and possession of methamphetamine for sale.

Authorities did not say why they believed one of the suspects had placed the bag containing the drugs in a garbage receptacle at the station.

This incident was related to another that took place just three days earlier, according to Sunnyvale police.

On Dec. 14, three other men were arrested for their roles in suspected robberies of the same Valero gas station.

In a Facebook post, authorities said the three suspects had been “conspiring together in a sophisticated operation to thwart security devices and pump electronics to steal large amounts of gasoline from the business.” According to authorities, the Dec. 14 and Dec. 17 incidents were “associated.”

Authorities say $20,000 of damage was done to gas pumps. They estimated the thieves took about 30,000 gallons and put the total estimated loss at $180,000. Gas prices have held near or above $5 a gallon in the last year, so the potential value could be even more.

The Valero worker estimated the station sells about 5,000 gallons of gas on a typical day.

“This is a huge number for a gas station our size coming out of the pandemic,” the person said. “Things could have been done. The technician could be more alert. There could be some safety measures, software updates, network accountability.

“We are simply fortunate and grateful to Sunnyvale that they were able to conduct their investigation in a timely matter and catch these guys.”