2 Gas Pump Skimmer Cases Closed With Arrest

TAMPA, FL — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a man wanted in connection with two recent gas pump skimmer cases. The arrest of Alberto Y. Garcia, 31, of Tampa was announced Thursday.

The sheriff’s office says the first case against Garcia began to unfold around 3:45 p.m. May 26. At that time, deputies say a skimmer was put inside a pump at Sunoco, 6915 W. Waters Ave. The owner of the gas station happened to detect the skimmer right after it was placed, an email from the sheriff’s office said.

As the owner was back inside the store contacting the sheriff’s office, the skimmer was removed from the pump, the email said.

On June 17, a skimmer was found connected to a pump at Citgo, 18820 Gunn Highway in Odessa.

In that case, station employees watched a man and woman park a silver SUV in front of a pump for about 15 minutes. The two paid for gas using a prepaid card, but didn’t actually put any fuel in the SUV, the email said.

“The employee thought the events appeared suspicious and inspected the gas pump,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

The employee found a skimmer and called deputies, the agency said.

Deputies were able to seize the skimmer in the second case and send it for processing. Latent evidence was also collected from the first gas station.

“The findings of the evidence collected positively linked Alberto Garcia as the person who placed the skimmers on both pumps,” the email said.

Garcia was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on two counts of fraudulent use of a scanning device. He was being held Thursday in lieu of $10,000 bond.

Photos courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office