VIRGINIA BEACH — A Norfolk man pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing thousands of dollars worth of gasoline from a Virginia Beach service station last summer and then selling it to people at a discount.
Rashane Griffith, 25, pleaded guilty in Virginia Beach Circuit Court to two counts each of felony theft, possession of burglary tools, and conspiracy, according to a spokeswoman for the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 27.
The thefts happened in May and June of last year at a Citgo station on North Great Neck Road and a Circle D station on Virginia Beach Boulevard, according to a statement of facts entered into evidence. Police went to the Citgo June 14, 2022, after learning gas was going to be illegally sold there beginning at 11 p.m., the statement said.
The officers watched for nearly an hour as drivers pulled up and paid to have a person standing there pump gas into their vehicles. Each time, the person distributing the gas waved some sort of handheld device in front of the pumps before removing the gas nozzle from it.
Initially the officers saw only one suspect, later identified as Devon Drumgoole, pumping the gas, but then saw Griffith join him. When the officers approached the men, they recovered a small black handheld Wayne device from each. Griffith also had a large bundle of cash in his sock, which the officers saw him reach down to each time he collected money from the drivers.
The Wayne devices the men were using are typically used by technicians working on gas pumps to bypass the credit card requirement, the statement of facts said.
“These devices are intended to be used only for repair and maintenance of pumps, in which free flow of the gasoline supply is necessary for technicians to do appropriate repairs on the pumps,” the statement said.
Police contacted the gas station owner afterward and were told about $15,000 worth of gasoline had been stolen after the station was closed over a three-day period. On Drumgoole’s Instagram account, they found a post that said “gas fill ups tonight at 11! Don’t be late and spread the word.” The post also said all gas would be sold at half the usual price.
Police later discovered the men had conducted an almost identical operation at a Circle D Food Mart a few weeks before. A video Drumgoole posted on Instagram around that time showed him demonstrating how the Wayne device worked. The owner of the Circle D station determined that about 350 gallons had been stolen over a two-day period, the statement said.
Drumgoole, 22, pleaded guilty to similar charges as Griffith earlier this year. He’s due to be sentenced in October.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
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