DELTONA, Fal. (WFLA) — A diesel fuel-siphoning suspect led Florida deputies on a foot chase through several fast food parking lots over the weekend.
On Saturday, the Volusia Sheriff's Office responded to the Deltona area after officials were alerted of two vehicles involved in a diesel siphoning ring.
The first vehicle, a Chrysler minivan was spotted sitting over a RaceTrac fuel port for roughly 15 minutes. The driver of the van, 33-year-old Henry Gonzalez Ortega, of Hialeah, then moved to a nearby Waffle House, where the suspect took off after deputies began their chase.
"We're running through the McDonald's right now guys," the deputy is heard telling other officials as he chases Ortega.
The deputy then calls out the direction he's fleeing in and his clothing description, sprinting after Ortega across a four-lane road and into the RaceTrac parking lot.
Once officials handcuffed Ortega, they searched his illegally tinted vehicle. Inside was a large auxiliary fuel tank, with a large hole cut through the floorboard, along with multiple gas tanks inside the trunk. Deputies said a chassis on small wooden blocks was strapped to the axle.
"That's why it smells like gas," the deputy is heard saying through his body-worn camera.
Ortega was taken into custody.
"Mhmm mhmm mhmm, not good," the deputy told the suspect. When Ortega replied that he didn't speak English, the deputy fired back saying, "No Bueno."
Ortega then asked him what happened, to which the deputy responded, "You know what happened."
The second suspect, 35-year-old Jose Garcia Aguila, of Orlando, was taken into custody in another minivan at a Debary Burger King. He has previously been arrested on similar charges near Orlando.
Both men, who are Cuban citizens, were taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail on charges associated with the diesel theft and unlawful conveyance of fuel.