Thieves Caught In Vernon After Ellington Cooking Oil Heist: Cops

ELLINGTON, CT — Two men were caught with hundreds of gallons of cooking oil after being caught taking some from a restaurant in Ellington, state police said.

At 5:45 a.m. on April 5, state police received a call from the owner of the JRego restaurant, who said a white Ford E350 van were actively stealing cooking oil from the back of the building, according to an arrest report.

The men fled the scene, but Vernon and state police tracked them down a short time later on Hartford Turnpike in Vernon, according to an arrest report.

Police then located a vat containing about 600 gallons of cooking oil inside the van, according to an arrest report.

Steven Garcia, 24, of Yonkers, NY, was charged with first-degree criminal trespass, possession of burglar tools and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny and Christian Valdez, 39, also of Yonkers, was charged with first-degree criminal trespass, possession of burglar tools and fourth-degree larceny.