Suspect involved in large fuel thefts in custody in the Kane County Jail

On December 6, Kane County Sheriff’s Office Detectives were contacted about a diesel fuel theft that had occurred at Ramsay’s Shell service station in Mt. Carmel, Utah. The theft occurred on December 3, 2022. Video surveillance showed two vehicles parked on opposite sides of a fuel pump a little after 1 a.m. One vehicle was a modified semi-truck with several holding tanks and the other was a Dodge pickup with tanks in the bed. The suspects then returned a second time close to midnight the same day stealing a total of about 2000 gallons of diesel fuel. Through the course of the investigation, it was discovered that they had also stolen another 1000 gallons of fuel from Ramsay’s Shell in Kanab, Utah, on November 4, 2022.

Video surveillance shows two vehicles parked on opposite sides of a fuel pump a little after 1 a.m. Photos submitted by KCSO.

The suspects were able to break into the pumps and manipulate the machinery to pump as long as they needed to fill all of their tanks. On December 7, information and photos from the Mt. Carmel thefts were provided to KSL news who posted the story. On December 8, an individual who had seen the KSL story contacted law enforcement to report seeing the semi-truck at a Maverick Station in Cedar City Utah. The truck and driver were held by local law enforcement until Kane County’s Detectives could travel to the scene.

The driver, 39-year-old Alexander Rodriguez Padilla from Las Vegas, Nevada, confirmed the truck was his and then requested an attorney. Padilla and the truck were transported to Kane County where Padilla was booked into the Kane County Jail. He is being held on three second degree felony theft charges and three related misdemeanor charges.

Through the information released to other agencies as well as to the press, it is believed that the vehicles and subjects have been committing the same thefts in different counties across the state of Utah. It is believed that that this an organized crime and involves more vehicles and suspects. Detectives have located other stations in Kanab that have seen similar thefts, which are being investigated. Just in Kane County, the approximate value of the thefts is over $15,000.

This case is still under investigation by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Utah State Bureau of Investigations, Sheriff’s Offices and Law Enforcement agencies throughout the state. If you feel you have been a victim a similar crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency to report it.