The CID may not always get its man (or woman), but we do get quite a few. Here are some recent examples:
Speed Kills Probation for Diesel Thief
A Fort Worth man who used drugs while on probation is now in prison for previously not paying taxes on diesel fuel.
In March, Jor-El Robert Blackmon, 41 , was sentenced concurrently in a Tarrant County district court to two two-year prison terms and assessed more than $2,100 in fines and court costs. He was credited with 45 days’ jail time served.
Blackmon admitted possessing between one and four grams of cocaine in May 2019. That charge, along with the tax violation, was brought forward in January because he failed to successfully complete an intensive outpatient treatment program late last year, having tested positive three times for methamphetamine in December 2019 and January 2020.
In September 2019, Blackmon pleaded guilty to motor fuel tax evasion, unlawful use of dyed diesel fuel and drug possession, receiving deferred adjudication (no final conviction) and eight years’ probation. He also was fined $500 and ordered to pay fees and court costs.
Evading motor fuel tax is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Delivering dyed diesel into a motor vehicle for use on a public highway and possessing more than one gram, but less than four grams, of a controlled substance both are third-degree felonies punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Blackmon admitted failing to pay taxes on the non-taxable diesel fuel he used and stored in containers and an auxiliary tank at his residence in November 2018, as well as to putting dyed diesel into two pickup trucks driven on public roads.
In Texas, non-taxable diesel fuel is dyed red to distinguish it from taxable diesel. Dyed diesel is authorized almost exclusively for off-road, agricultural use only by permit-holders.
Diesel and Fraud and Jail - Oh My
A Houston man will be spending time in the state prison system after being convicted of stealing diesel fuel using re-encoded credit cards.
Yosbel Nunez-Hernandez, 39 , pleaded guilty March 16 in a Brazoria County district court to motor fuel tax evasion and 10 counts of fraudulent possession of identifying information. He was sentenced to two years in prison and 12 months in state jail, respectively, to be served concurrently. He is being credited with almost 11 months of jail time served. He also was ordered to pay court costs.
Motor fuel tax evasion is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Fraudulently possessing the identifying information of another without their consent is a felony punishable by confinement in a state jail for six months up to two years.
On Aug. 8, 2018, employees at a chain convenience store in Pearland observed the defendant acting suspiciously. They alerted local police after recognizing him as having made several, high-dollar, diesel fuel transactions at the same location on multiple days.
Nunez-Hernandez was arrested for unlawfully obtaining 60 gallons of diesel fuel worth $150, pumped into an auxiliary tank concealed in his pickup truck. Officers discovered that the truck had been further modified to receive, transport and dispense large quantities of fuel. Police also confiscated 22 “cloned” cards, one of which was traced to the $150 purchase.
CID assisted the Pearland Police Department in the investigation of the case.
Two Trips to the Pump Gets Fuel Thief Two Years Behind Bars
Rafael Luis Quintero Cutino, 24 , of Houston pleaded guilty April 16 in a Harris County district court to three charges related to two incidents of fuel fraud, receiving two years in prison.
The defendant admitted to fraudulent use/possession of a credit/debit card in February, a second-degree felony punishable by imprisonment for two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000. He also admitted engaging in a motor fuel transaction without the requisite license, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
On Feb. 19, Cutino used re-encoded charge cards to unlawfully obtain approximately 50 gallons of diesel fuel worth almost $125 from a Katy gas station. A police detective witnessed the transaction and arrested him, confiscating numerous “cloned” cards.
The pickup truck he was driving had been modified to receive, transport and dispense large quantities of fuel, evidence showed, qualifying it as a fuel transporting vehicle.
At the time, Cutino was serving five years’ probation for fraudulent use/possession of 10-50 items of identifying information in 2018. Based on commission of the new crime, the court revoked his probation given under deferred adjudication and convicted him of the second-degree felony.
He was sentenced to three, concurrent, two-year prison terms and ordered to pay court costs. CID assisted the Katy Police Department in the investigation of the case.
Clone Cards, Steal Fuel, Evade Taxes, Get Probation
Alexander Rosales Guerrero, 32 , of Houston pleaded guilty March 11 in a Harris County district court to making an unlawful motor fuel transaction, receiving four years’ probation in lieu of a suspended eight-year prison sentence. He also was fined $300 plus court costs and ordered to perform 60 hours of community service.
Guerrero admitted engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a license for acting as a motor fuel transporter without the required permit. The offense is a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
A related felony credit/debit card abuse case, punishable by confinement in a state jail for six months up to two years, was dismissed in the plea agreement.
Guerrero used re-encoded credit cards to unlawfully obtain diesel fuel from a Katy service station in late October 2018.
Local police officers discovered a "bladder" containing diesel in the bed of his pickup truck. The vehicle had been modified with auxiliary pumps and nozzles enabling it to receive, transport and dispense fuel, according to investigators. They also reported confiscating multiple “cloned” gift cards.
Houston Man Doesn’t Know When To Fold ‘Em, Gets Probation
Roberto Arizon-Marin, 41 , of Houston pleaded guilty March 3 in a Harris County district court to illegally possessing charge card numbers, receiving six years’ probation in lieu of a 10-year prison sentence. He also was fined $1,000, plus court costs and fees, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.
He admitted fraudulently using and/or possessing more than 10 but fewer than 50 items of identifying information, a second-degree felony punishable by imprisonment for two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
Dismissed in the plea agreement was a related charge of engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a transporter's license or cargo manifest, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In January 2019, Arizon-Marin was arrested for using a re-encoded credit card to unlawfully obtain diesel fuel for resale from a chain convenience store in Baytown.
Upon apprehension by Baytown police, officers confiscated approximately 30 "cloned" charge cards in his possession. They also discovered that his pickup truck and cargo trailer had been modified with auxiliary tanks to receive and transport motor fuel.
The defendant admitted re-selling diesel fuel to commercial truckers, reports showed.
Holding All the Cards Gets Katy Man Probation
Miguel A. Pulido, 46 , of Katy pleaded guilty March 12 in a Harris County district court to illegally possessing 75 charge cards, receiving six years’ probation in lieu of a 10-year prison sentence. He also was fined $1,000, plus court costs and fees, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.
Pulido admitted possessing more than 50 “cloned” cards containing identifying information, a first-degree felony punishable by imprisonment for five to 99 years or life and a fine of up to $10,000. Dismissed in the plea agreement was a related motor fuel tax evasion charge, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The defendant was under indictment for allegedly using re-encoded charge cards to unlawfully obtain almost 500 gallons of diesel fuel worth more than $1,200 from several Katy gas stations in April 2019.
Local police observed Pulido making multiple purchases at four gas stations. After he left the fourth location, they conducted a traffic stop assisted by a constable.
Officers confiscated 75 “cloned” credit cards and discovered two, 250-gallon “tote tanks,” almost full, concealed in the cargo area of Pulido’s box truck. The vehicle also had been modified with hoses, pumps and nozzles designed to receive, transport and dispense motor fuel, reports showed.
CID assisted the Katy Police Department and the Precinct Five Harris County Constable’s Office in the investigation of the case.
Gas Guzzler Does Time at the Five-and-Dime
Cesar Achon, 34 , of Houston pleaded guilty last fall in a Fort Bend County district court to motor fuel tax evasion and received five years’ probation in lieu of a suspended 10-year prison sentence.
The defendant also was fined $1,000; assessed more than $450 in restitution plus court and other related costs; required to write a letter apologizing to the victim; and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service.
Evading motor fuel tax, or buying fuel with the intent to do so, is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. A related charge of transporting motor fuel without a cargo manifest, also a second-degree felony, was dismissed in the plea agreement.
In July 2018, police observed Achon using several re-encoded charge cards to obtain diesel fuel at a Katy gas station. Upon apprehension, they confiscated several “cloned” cards in a wallet he was attempting to discard.
Investigators also discovered an auxiliary fuel tank concealed behind a false wall inside the rear cargo area of his box truck.
CID assisted the Katy Police Department in the investigation of this case.
Houston Pair Draws Tough Hand for Not Playing Cards Right
Lopez-Estrada
Tapanes-Iglesias
Inalbys Lopez-Estrada, 36, and Ana Marys Tapanes-Iglesias, 34, both of Houston, pleaded guilty in a Harris County district court in December to illicit motor fuel transportation. In lieu of 10-year suspended prison sentences, they each were placed on three years’ probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay court and related costs.
The co-defendants admitted transporting motor fuel without a cargo manifest, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In September 2018, police arrested the duo in Katy for allegedly transporting diesel fuel without proper documentation in a vehicle designed to receive, transport and dispense motor fuel.
After observing the covered bed of the women’s pickup truck, police followed it to a local restaurant and initiated contact with the defendants. Upon detecting a strong diesel fuel odor, an officer conducted a consensual search of the vehicle. Concealed beneath the truck bed was an auxiliary fuel “bladder” connected to a hose, nozzle and auxiliary pumps. The women did not have the requisite documentation to transport fuel on a public roadway.
CID assisted the Katy Police Department in the investigation of this case. It grew out of the defendants’ alleged ongoing use of re-encoded (“cloned”) credit/debit cards containing fraudulently acquired account information to obtain and transport large quantities of diesel fuel without paying taxes.
Fuelish Thief Gets a Pick-six
Yexis A. Benavides Estrada, 25 , of Houston pleaded guilty Nov. 20 in a Harris County district court to an unlawful motor fuel transaction and received six years’ probation in lieu of a suspended 10-year prison sentence.
The defendant also must perform 120 hours of community service, pay more than $700 in restitution and undergo drug testing.
Benavides Estrada admitted using a re-encoded charge card to unlawfully obtain and transport more than 100 gallons of diesel fuel worth almost $300 from a Katy convenience store in November 2018. He was convicted of engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a permit, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
A Katy police detective caught him after he made three transactions using a "cloned" discount store gift card containing superimposed credit card information. The fuel was pumped into a large auxiliary tank in a flat-bed truck modified to receive, transport and dispense motor fuel.
Officers confiscated 23 cloned cards during the arrest. A related felony credit card abuse case was dismissed in the plea agreement.
CID assisted the Katy Police Department in the investigation of the motor fuel tax fraud case.
Doing the Crime Means Doing the Time
Luis Perez Delarosa, 22 , of Houston pleaded guilty Oct. 4 in a Harris County district court to an unlawful motor fuel transaction and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was credited with 221 days’ jail time served.
Delarosa admitted to engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a permit, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In July 2018, the defendant was observed at a Houston gas station obtaining fuel for his pickup truck using multiple charge cards. Local police apprehended him and confiscated 24 re-encoded credit cards.
Officers discovered that the truck had been modified to contain a large auxiliary fuel tank with hoses and nozzles consistent with transporting motor fuel. Delarosa did not possess the requisite state permits.
CID assisted the Houston Police Department in the investigation of the case.
Short-term Gas Theft Nets Long-term Probation
Luis Moreno Lopez, 51 , of Houston pleaded guilty in August in a Brazoria County district court to an unlawful motor fuel transaction and was sentenced to six years’ probation, 120 hours of community service, a $500 fine and $318 in court costs.
He also must pay for and attend an anti-theft class. He was credited with 168 days’ jail time served.
Moreno Lopez admitted to engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a permit, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Two related felony charges were dropped.
Last March, an employee observed the defendant using re-encoded credit cards to obtain diesel fuel at a chain convenience store in Pearland. Local police responded and arrested him and three other suspects during a subsequent traffic stop.
In the bed of their pickup truck, officers discovered a large auxiliary fuel tank outfitted with hoses and nozzles consistent with transporting motor fuel. Moreno Lopez did not possess the requisite state permits.
CID assisted the Pearland Police Department in the investigation of the case.
Drug Dealer Does Time for Tax Crime
Robert Wayne Reaves, 49 , of Wills Point pleaded guilty June 10 in a Kaufman County district court to a tobacco tax violation and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a 10-year prison term probated to four years and a $1,500 fine, plus $420 in court costs and 120 hours of community service.
Reaves admitted possessing tobacco products on which more than $50 in taxes were owed, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. He was under indictment for allegedly scheming to resell untaxed pipe tobacco purchased online from out of state without paying substantial amounts of Texas tobacco tax.
Investigators found more than 1,600 ounces of illicit tobacco at Reaves' tobacco shop in Terrell in the fall of 2017.
In an unrelated drug case, Reaves’ probation ordered in 2014 was revoked based on his plea in the tax case. He previously had admitted possessing more than 50 pounds of synthetic cannabinoids in 2012, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Reaves had received deferred adjudication which has now been rescinded, giving him two felony convictions. He was given the same sentence on the drug charge and will serve them both concurrently.
Trucker Pays for Failing to Pay Up
James Carter DeCamara, 53 , of Anson pleaded guilty May 29 in a Travis County district court to a probation violation and was sentenced to two years in prison plus more than $54,000 in previously ordered restitution upon parole. He is being credited with 149 days’ jail time served.
DeCamara admitted to a $1,200 delinquency on tax restitution payments to the state ordered in 2008 when he pleaded guilty to motor fuel tax evasion. He also had been jailed for 120 days, fined $2,000 and given 10 years’ probation, which has now been revoked.
The offense is a second-degree felony punishable by imprisonment for two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
In 2006, DeCamara was caught using red-dyed diesel fuel in several trucks he owned and operated on public roadways. He avoided paying motor fuel taxes by purchasing dyed diesel fuel tax free with a permit.
DeCamara gave a distributor a signed statement attesting that none of the untaxed diesel fuel would be used in a taxable manner, i.e., in motor vehicles on public roadways. Untaxed diesel is dyed red and may be used lawfully off road or in agricultural equipment only.
Don’t Mess with Texas Lawmen’s Charge Cards
Yasser Izquierdo-Hernandez, 30 , of Houston pleaded guilty May 17 in a Colorado County district court to motor fuel tax evasion and was put behind bars for using a peace officer’s charge card to commit the crime.
The defendant received deferred adjudication (no final conviction), 30 days in jail (to be served on weekends), five years’ probation and 240 hours of community service. He also was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and restitution to be determined, plus court costs and other related fees.
Izquierdo-Hernandez admitted to a second-degree felony punishable by imprisonment for two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000. He waived indictment and pled to a charge contained in a legal document called a felony information.
Dismissed in the plea agreement was a related charge of engaging in a motor fuel transaction without a license, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In a separate case brought by local authorities, Izquierdo-Hernandez pleaded guilty to felony credit/debit card abuse, also receiving deferred adjudication, five years’ probation, 120 hours of community service and a $250 fine plus court costs and related fees. He could have received from six months up to two years in a state jail and been fined up to $10,000.
He also was given 22 months to earn a high school diploma or the equivalent as a condition of his probation.
Izquierdo-Hernandez was arrested last December for using a re-encoded gift card belonging to a Fort Worth police detective to unlawfully obtain 138 gallons of diesel fuel worth more than $368 at a Weimar truck stop.
The detective’s bank had texted him that his card number was in use there. The detective then alerted Weimar police that an unauthorized transaction was in progress, leading to Izquierdo-Hernandez’ arrest at the scene. Investigators recovered numerous “cloned” cards containing fraudulent charge account information.
Gas Theft Rundown Yields Two-year Shutdown
Alexander Tamayo-Cabrera, 31 , of Austin pleaded guilty in a Travis County district court in April and was sentenced to two years in prison for using a re-encoded gift card to unlawfully obtain a large amount of diesel fuel, almost injuring a lawman in the process. He also was assessed court costs.
Tamayo-Cabrera admitted transporting motor fuel without a shipping document, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine; and evading arrest in a motor vehicle, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Three other charges pending against him – motor fuel tax evasion, a second-degree felony, assaulting a public servant and tampering with physical evidence, both third-degree felonies – were dismissed in the plea agreement.
In September 2017, Tamayo-Cabrera took 105 gallons of diesel fuel worth almost $264 from a North Austin convenience store , concealing it in an auxiliary tank hidden in the bed of his pickup truck.
When confronted by a Comptroller investigator, he sped away in the truck. The officer stepped onto its running board to avoid being pinned between the vehicle and a fuel pump and was thrown to the ground. As he fled the scene, Tamayo-Cabrera threw “cloned” charge cards out the driver’s side window, according to reports.
The Austin Police Department assisted CID in apprehending the suspect.
Gas Thief Packing Heat Is Sent Packing
Mark Anthony Juarez Jr., 35 , of Houston was sentenced in late October in a Harris County district court to five years in prison for using re-encoded charge cards to unlawfully obtain large quantities of diesel fuel for resale last spring.
Juarez also was convicted of two felony weapons possession charges one from 2016, for which he was on probation, and another that occurred in April. He received five-year prison sentences for each of those convictions as well. He will serve all of them concurrently in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
A related evading arrest case was dismissed in the plea agreement.
On April 26, at one of the service stations Juarez had been frequenting in northwest Houston, the owner of a credit card used in his crimes recognized his vehicle from a surveillance photograph a store manager had shown him. He followed Juarez to another station, and, when Houston police arrived, an officer observed Juarez buying diesel fuel with cloned cards. During a subsequent attempted traffic stop, a brief chase ensued before Juarez was apprehended. Upon arrest, officers confiscated 10 fraudulent charge cards and a firearm from his vehicle.
Juarez pleaded guilty to transporting motor fuel without a license as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm. Both are third-degree felonies punishable by two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Juarez further admitted to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon in 2016, for which he had received deferred adjudication (no final conviction) and five years probation. That offense was based on a 2002 conviction for felony drug possession. In Texas, felons may possess firearms five years after they are convicted, but only at their residences.
Thief Goes to the Pump One Too Many Times
Carlos Albert Viera-Rodriguez, 35 , of Houston was sentenced on Oct. 29 in a Burleson County district court to four years in prison for using re-encoded charge cards to unlawfully obtain more than 330 gallons of diesel fuel from a Caldwell convenience store in April 2017.
He also was ordered to pay $200 in restitution plus court costs.
The defendant pleaded guilty to motor fuel tax evasion (failure to pay backup tax), a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of credit/debit card abuse, a felony punishable by state jail confinement for six months up to two years. The 14-month sentence pronounced in that case will run concurrently with the prison term.
In early April 2017, Caldwell police contacted CID for assistance after a credit card holder reported fraudulent use. Video on an in-store surveillance camera revealed the defendants vehicle.
Two weeks later, officers spotted the vehicle at the same store and confronted the defendant. They found 22 cloned cards in his possession as he was pumping almost 167 gallons of diesel fuel into the saddle tanks of his semi-tractor truck. During the previous incident, he pumped more than 164 gallons of diesel into the tanks.
