Two held in alleged fuel theft

Police: Men used stolen credit cards to access Martin’s pumps

Two out-of-state men are behind bars in Blair County after being accused of stealing diesel fuel.

Elvis Clay Morffigarcia, 29, of Elizabeth, N.J., and Andres Cuellar, 40, of Hialeah, Fla., were arraigned Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Fred B. Miller. Each faces a felony charge of unauthorized use of a credit card and a misdemeanor charge of theft. Bail was set at $30,000 each, and they were remanded to the Blair County Prison. Their preliminary hearings are set for Aug. 8 before Miller.

According to court documents, state police responded to the Martin General Store, 3218 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd., about 8:24 p.m. Tuesday for a report of two males stealing fuel from the store. The manager said he was contacted by the store employees regarding recent fuel thefts and the two men, who were at the store when police arrived, matched the description of the two men who were allegedly using multiple stolen credit cards to access the pumps on Monday.

On Tuesday, the men purchased $1,456.27 in fuel using the same method as the day before, the manager told police.

While investigating the incident, police asked the men about the smell of diesel fuel coming from the enclosed truck bed of their Ford F350. Cuellar opened the covering and police saw a large reservoir containing a large amount of diesel fuel, court documents state.

Both men were taken into custody and searched. During the search, multiple credit cards were found and run against receipts at the store. No card information was linked to any receipts, police reported.