Lehigh Acres men face 25 charges for $3K gas theft scheme

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WINK)—Two men are accused of stealing thousands of dollars' worth of gas from two 7-Eleven locations using a simple magnet.

An arrest report says Adan Tamayo Rodriguez and Eriberto Cruz bounced back and forth between two 7-Eleven stores over six days. One location is on Lee Boulevard, and the other is on Sunshine Boulevard.

Officers with the Florida Department of Agriculture say the duo took off the fuel panel and put a magnet on the fuel meter. That magnet tricked the pump into giving them gallons of free gas.

"$3,000 worth of gas could fill up probably this entire law right now," said Jared Lopez Soto Jr., who fills up at the Sunshine Boulevard 7-Eleven. "But I would wonder how he's done that."

The report says surveillance video caught the whole scheme. WINK News went to both 7-Eleven locations for comment and a copy of the video but was told to reach out to corporate.

Alissa Agraetelli, who comes to the Sunshine Boulevard gas station for fundraisers for her local sports team, said the method was creative.

"I also appreciate that it didn't go with a skimmer towards other consumers, and that it was just him," Agraetelli said. "I've heard of people trying to siphon gas with like a almost like a plunger, but never with, like a magnet, and, no, I've never heard that."

7-Eleven has not responded to requests for comment. The two suspects are now facing 25 charges each.