Two MoCo Men Arrested For Stealing Used Cooking Oil Worth Thousands

SILVER SPRING, MD — Two downtown Silver Spring businesses reported nearly $50,000 worth of used cooking oil was stolen; two men have been arrested.

Officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 5th and 3rd District Special Assignment Teams have arrested and charged Michael Cordones-Lopez, 24, and Patricio Cardones-Molina, 61, with the thefts of used cooking oil that occurred on Dec. 17, at two restaurants in downtown Silver Spring.

Officers patrolling in downtown Silver Spring about 2:20 a.m. saw a gray Ford E-350 van driving on Mayor Lane, which is an alley behind several restaurants. According to a police news release, the van was occupied by two suspects, later identified as Cordones-Lopez and Cardones-Molina, who wore masks. The suspects got out of the van, looked inside several grease dumpsters and drove away.

Officers followed the men to an alley behind the Fillmore Silver Spring in the 8600 block of Colesville Road, where the suspects reportedly used a prybar to break open a locked grease dumpster. A police news release said the pair siphoned used cooking oil from the dumpster and transferred the oil into large tanks inside the van.

Investigators said the suspects then broke into another grease dumpster in the same alley and stole used cooking oil that belongs to the Amina Thai Silver Spring restaurant.

As the suspects left the scene, officers pulled them over and took them into custody.

When police searched the van, they located the stolen oil and equipment used in the theft.

Restaurants sell used cooking oil to companies that make biodiesel fuel and other products. The value of used cooking oil varies by gallon or by pound.

One victim told police they sell the oil for more than $2.38 per pound and about 20,000 pounds of oil have been stolen from restaurants around the DMV region recently. That translates to a monetary loss of about $47,000.

Cordones-Lopez and Cardones-Molina were taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where they were charged with fourth-degree burglary and three counts of theft under $100. Both suspects have been released on $5,000 and $300 unsecured personal bonds.