Baltimore County Police arrested a man following a suspicious vehicle call at a Royal Farms store after he was seen filling tanks inside a van with fuel.
Police were dispatched to the Royal Farms at 10740 Pulaski Highway in White Marsh near Ebenezer Road for a call of a suspicious vehicle at 3:34 p.m. The call indicated that a white van was filling two large tanks inside the cargo area with diesel fuel. When the officer arrived on the scene he observed the van, bearing a Virginia registration plate, stopped at the diesel fuel pump. As the officer approached the van it pulled away and left the parking lot. The officer conducted an investigative traffic stop on the van and determined that the driver had committed an arrestable traffic violation and was taken into custody.
The investigation determined that the suspect, a 30-year-old man, paid for the gas using Royal Farms gift cards, but where and how he obtained those cards remains under investigation. The suspect indicated he was given the cards by the owner of the van, a Virginia man, who asked him to fill the fuel tanks using the gift cards. The owner of the van indicated he rented the van to the suspect with no fuel tanks inside, and denied any knowledge of the gift cards.
The Maryland Department of the Environment responded to collect the fuel, while the van was seized by Baltimore County Police. A search warrant yielded the discovery of a total of 68 Royal Farms gift cards and a credit card inside the van, the validity of which remain under investigation.
The identity of the suspect and charges will be released following formal charging. The incident remains under investigation by officers from the Essex Precinct and detectives from the Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit.
