Second cooking oil theft case in a week tied to Worcester

• Posted by Worcester News Oct 12 - Filed in News - #Worcester  #Massachusetts  #Shrewsbury  #crime  #Beverly  #arrests  #Jose Rivera Deleon  #cooking oil theft  #New Hampshire  #Hampton  #Jassiel Benitez Diaz  #Beverly Police Department  #restaurant theft  - 1,978 views

  
  The Anchor Pub and Grille at 20 Cabot Street in Beverly (Google)

  BEVERLY — 3 Worcester residents, including 2 juveniles, were arrested Saturday morning in connection with the theft of used cooking oil from 2 Beverly businesses, marking the second time in less than 2 weeks that Worcester residents have been arrested in Massachusetts or New Hampshire in connection with similar thefts.

  Jassiel Benitez Diaz, 18, and 2 boys, ages 17 and 16, all of Worcester, were arrested October 10th after Beverly police responded to a report of cooking oil being stolen from a restaurant on Cabot Street.

  According to police, officers were called to 20 Cabot St. about 7 a.m. after a neighbor noticed suspicious activity and alerted the business owner, who reviewed surveillance footage remotely and contacted police.

  Responding officers found 3 people handling a large hose next to a rental van parked on Cox Court. Inside the van, police discovered a pump and 3 large liquid storage tanks.

  A preliminary investigation determined that used cooking oil had been removed from storage containers at 2 nearby businesses, including a restaurant at 24 Cabot St., police said.

  Police estimated the recovered cooking oil was worth approximately $2,750.

  All 3 Worcester residents were charged with 2 counts of larceny from a building, receiving stolen property valued at more than $1,200 and use of a motor vehicle in a felony or larceny. Benitez Diaz was also charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

  The Beverly Fire Department responded to inspect the van and its contents and contain a spill. The van was subsequently towed.

  The arrests come just 10 days after a Worcester man was among 3 people arrested September 30th in Hampton, New Hampshire, in connection with a series of used cooking oil thefts involving restaurants in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

  In that case, Jose Rivera Deleon, 31, of Worcester, was arrested along with 2 other men after Hampton police investigated thefts involving rental trucks and equipment used to siphon cooking oil from restaurant storage containers.

  Investigators connected a truck rented from a Worcester Home Depot to an August 6th theft in Hampton and a similar August 21st incident at Imperial Buffet on Maple Avenue in Shrewsbury.

  Police later discovered approximately 1,000 gallons of cooking oil believed to have been stolen in a rental truck stopped in Hampton.

  Read the earlier story about the Hampton arrests and Worcester connections here.

  Used cooking oil has resale value because recycling companies collect it for conversion into products such as biofuel. The value has made restaurant grease storage containers targets for thieves.

  Beverly Police Chief John G. LeLacheur credited the alert neighbor with helping officers catch the suspects at the scene.

  "I want to recognize the neighbor who noticed something suspicious and alerted the business owner, who then called police," LeLacheur said. "That quick action helped our officers respond while the individuals were still there, resulting in three arrests."

  Police have not indicated that the Beverly arrests are connected to the Hampton investigation.