VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two Norfolk men were sentenced in Virginia Beach Circuit Court on Wednesday after being charged in a gas theft operation from last year.
According to Virginia Beach police, it involved dispensing thousands of dollars worth of gasoline without the business owner’s knowledge, during the price surge last year.
According to court records, on the night of June 14, 2022, Virginia Beach police officers covertly watched as Devon Drumgoole and Rashane Griffith dispensed stolen gasoline, for a deeply discounted price, to a line of customers.
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More than $13K of fuel stolen from Virginia Beach gas station, according to police
The illegal fill-ups started about an hour after closing time at the Citgo station on North Great Neck Road, according to court documents.
Detectives reached out to the station's owner, who checked the tank summary records and found that more than $15,000 in gasoline had been stolen during a five-day period beginning June 9.
In court on Wednesday, the commonwealth’s attorney said these events happened at multiple locations. The lead detective described how the men advertised the gas fill-ups on social media.
A video was also shown in court, where one of the men was demonstrating how he used the device which one police officer described as looking like an “old-style remote control.”
Watch previous coverage: 2 charged after more than $13K of fuel stolen from Virginia Beach gas station, according to police
Judge Les Lilley sentenced Drumgoole to five years in prison and Griffith to seven years. He commented about the “magnitude of the scam” and said it was “a game to them.”
George Yates, Drumgoole’s attorney, told News 3 reporter Angela Bohon, “He imposed a pretty serious sentence for an economic crime. I mean there was no violence involved, no weapons, very cooperative young men. They assisted right way, cooperated, and pleaded guilty, so I’m a little surprised at the size of the verdict. I think he went a little too hard on these young men.”
Griffith’s attorney, Eric Korslund, said after the sentencing, “I’ve never seen a case like this; never heard of anybody else handling a case like this where there’s a device that will allow somebody to get gas without a credit card or any payment. It was hard to predict what was going to happen.”
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When talking specifically about the sentence the judge gave, Korslund stated, “He went about three times above the high end of the guidelines.”
In addition to jail time, Lilley also ordered the men to pay back more than $4,000 each.
Wednesday, News 3 went by Citgo on Great Neck Road to try and talk with the owner but he was unavailable for comment.
