Diesel Thief Hits FL Deputy’s Vehicle While Leaving Scene: Sheriff

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — A man seen stealing diesel from a closed Mobil gas station early Saturday morning faces charges after hitting a deputy’s vehicle while leaving the scene, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. (Watch a deputy’s bodycam footage from the incident below.)

Deputies saw Kiusler Perez Ortiz, 24, at the gas station on Hillsborough Avenue, parked on top of an underground diesel fuel tank’s fill port around 3:45 a.m.

When they tried to speak with Ortiz, he refused to comply with their commands, briefly put his car in reverse and then sped forward, hitting the back of an unmarked HCSO vehicle and nearly hitting a deputy, the agency said.

Ortiz led deputies on a chase along Hillsborough Avenue into Pinellas County. He was eventually arrested in a wooded area off Sunray Drive.

Investigators learned that Ortiz siphoned 93 gallons of diesel fuel from the underground fuel tank before the deputies intervened, the sheriff’s office said.

He was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, fleeing to elude high speed, reckless driving, criminal mischief of $1,000 or more, attaching a tag that wasn’t assigned, resisting arrest without violence.

"I'm glad that our deputies are safe and were able to avoid any harm from this man who clearly did not want to be arrested," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "Our patrol deputies resolved this volatile situation quickly and should be very proud of their efforts."

Watch a deputy’s bodycam footage from the incident below: