Man arrested after stealing $1,600 worth of diesel via hole in bottom of van, deputies say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County sheriff's deputies arrested a man accused of stealing about $1,600 worth of diesel from a gas station on Monday evening. 

Osnel Martinez, 56, faces several charges, including grand theft and resisting arrest.

According to an arrest affidavit, Martinez led deputies on a chase after they learned he had been reported stealing fuel from the RaceTrac on Central Florida Parkway.

After they caught him, investigators searched through the van he was driving and found containers filled with roughly 550 gallons of diesel. 

They also found a hole at the bottom of the center console inside the van between the two front seats, which is how they believe Martinez was stealing the fuel to avoid getting caught.

Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, says the method has been used by fuel thieves for years, especially in South Florida. 

"What happens is the vehicle pulls over the top of the fill pipe where the gasoline trucks, the big tanker trucks, would come in and drop the loads. They pull over the top of it, they pull the cover off of the floorboard, they drop a hose in which is hooked up to a pump, and they pump the diesel fuel and/or gasoline out into a bladder or tanks in the back of their minivan," Bowman said.

Typically, the fuel is sold to truckers at a cheaper rate, costing gas stations and consumers more money. 

"Us, the public, are paying more at the pump because of it, and the more we can control it and work with law enforcement to break these ranks, the better off the citizens of the state of Florida are," Bowman said. 

As of Tuesday night, Martinez remained in the Orange County jail.