BELLVILLE — Jose Carlos Guevara-Lara, 35, and Susan Derivet-Matos, 26, both of Houston, thought liquid gold was in used cooking oil.
On April 8, a call to dispatch sent Bellville Police Officer Omar Resendez to the Pizza Hut in Bellville about a
theft in progress.
The caller said the duo was stealing cooking oil from the back of the business.
Resendez located the van used in the oil theft behind the Dairy Queen. Investigation revealed two 275-gallon tanks in the van, each containing used fryer oil, along with extraction tools.
Used cooking oil is no longer discarded as waste, where restaurants pay to have someone haul it off.
It is used in biodiesel and renewable diesel production, making the product a salable item and the restaurant's property.
Both were charged with theft of property and unlawful use of a criminal instrument.
JOSE GUEVARA-LARA
SUSAN MATOS
