One defendant pleads guilty, other fails to appear in court in fuel theft case
One man accused of stealing nearly 500 gallons of diesel fuel from the Mecca Travel Center pleaded guilty to felony charges earlier this week, while another failed to appear in court and has a bench warrant that remained outstanding today.
Los Angeles resident Pablo Jose Huertas, 26, and Huntington Park resident Eliseo Laglera, 22, were each charged with multiple counts of grand theft of over $950, according to court records.
Huertas was initially charged with two grand theft counts, as well as two enhancements for planning/sophistication and attempting, taking or damaging great monetary value.
He entered guilty pleas to at least one of those counts and admitted both enhancements Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to Thalia Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney's office. It was not immediately clear whether Huertas pleaded guilty to both counts.
The defendant was immediately placed on felony probation with 120 days of custody and ordered to pay restitution.
Laglera faces four grand theft counts in addition to the same pair of enhancements. He was scheduled to appear at a felony settlement conference Wednesday, according to court records, but was not present. As a result, a $20,000 bench warrant was issued later that afternoon, according to Hayden.
After re-adding himself onto the calendar for Thursday, Laglera failed to show up a second time, Hayden said. His warrant remains outstanding.
Deputies responded to a report of diesel being stolen around 4:30 p.m. on August 15, 2022, when they allegedly found Huertas and Laglera pumping fuel into a storage tank, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities said the two suspects allegedly pumped around 470 gallons of fuel, worth more than $2,700, without paying by manipulating the fuel pump mechanism.
Huertas was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, and Laglera was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center. They were both held on $250,000 bail.
