A resident of Hialeah -whose nationality of origin has not been disclosed- was arrested this Thursday accused of repeatedly stealing diesel from a 7-Eleven gas station.
He did it for over two months, accumulating a total theft valued at nearly $4,000, according to local news.
The arrested individual, 36 years old and identified as Jose Dayron Bravo, faces charges of fraudulent acquisition of fuel, illegal transportation of fuel, and petty theft, according to the arrest report.
How did the scheme work?
Everything began when a corporate investigator from 7-Eleven alerted the Police after noticing that the diesel inventory at the store located at 7675 W. 4th Avenue was decreasing without any recorded payments.
The surveillance cameras revealed the pattern: a black pickup truck repeatedly entered the station, stopped in front of the diesel pumps, and stayed there for extended periods before leaving without paying.
The investigators documented nine distinct occasions between June 2 and August 4 in which the vehicle was involved, amounting to approximately 753 gallons of fuel dispensed without any payment.
One of the most revealing episodes occurred on July 28: the truck was at the pumps for about 25 minutes and during that time approximately 99 gallons were dispensed, with a value of over 544 dollars, without any transaction being recorded.
The magnet and the hidden tank: The tools of the robbery
When the investigators identified the truck and linked it to Bravo as one of its registered owners, they also recognized him in the surveillance footage.
Bravo was arrested during a routine traffic stop.
At the time of the arrest, he spontaneously stated “if it was because of the diesel”, according to the police report.
When registering the vehicle, the agents found a large metal tank installed in the truck bed, equipped with pumps and an electrical switch to transfer fuel from the vehicle's tank to this additional tank, with an estimated capacity of 150 gallons.
They also found a magnet compatible with a device used to activate or manipulate fuel pumps without making a payment.
According to researchers in Florida, this method involves placing a high-power magnet near the dispenser to interfere with the internal solenoid of the pump, allowing fuel to flow without the payment system registering or authorizing it.
The truck was confiscated as evidence.
So far, it is unclear whether Bravo was selling the stolen diesel or using it for personal use.
A history of arrests for the same offense
The spokesperson for the Hialeah Police, Eddie Rodríguez, emphasized that this is not Bravo's first encounter with the law for this type of crime.
He was arrested in the north for exactly the same thing. It's not the first time, but this time he was caught here in the city of Hialeah doing this., Rodríguez stated to Telemundo 51.
The spokesperson also noted that other law enforcement agencies are interested in the case.
"We know that there are other agencies that are also interested in talking to him to see if, perhaps, he is the person responsible for the same type of robberies that are happening over there," the officer asserted.
A pattern that repeats in southern Florida
The case of Bravo is not an isolated incident.
In March of this year, another man was arrested in Miami-Dade for stealing approximately 950 gallons of diesel from several 7-Eleven stations, valued at over $3,400, using a truck with hidden tanks and two magnets to manipulate the dispensers.
Months later, in June, five individuals linked to a large-scale diesel theft ring were arrested in Florida, four of whom were of Cuban nationality.
The pattern in all these cases is similar: modified trucks with large capacity tanks, magnets or electronic devices to circumvent bombs, and repeated visits to the same gas stations.
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