Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Couple faces military jet fuel theft charge

EDMOND — A federal grand jury has indicted an Oklahoma couple for conspiracy to steal jet fuel and defraud the United States.

The indictment claims Latimer Trucking, owned and operated by Doyle Latimer, 55, subcontracted to provide several drivers and trucks capable of hauling about 7,500 gallons of jet fuel from facilities in the state to various military bases.

Cynthia Latimer, 59, was employed by Latimer Trucking and kept the business and payroll records. Both Elgin residents are named in the indictment.

It is alleged that Latimer Trucking’s drivers made an average of two deliveries per truck per day to designated military bases and that Latimer’s trucks, which normally burn diesel fuel, can also operate on the jet fuel.

The JP-8 jet fuel contains a fuel system icing inhibitor used by military aircraft. Without JP-8’s additives, the operation of the aircraft is endangered at high altitudes where temperatures are below freezing.

The indictment alleges the Latimers conspired to steal the jet fuel intended for delivery to the military and use that fuel to operate its fleet of trucks in order to substantially reduce the costs of their daily trucking operation.

Specifically, it is alleged that Doyle Latimer directed his truck drivers to steal jet fuel after picking up loads from a Conoco facility in Oklahoma City or the Wynnewood Refinery.

They were then to divert some of the fuel into storage tanks at one of Latimer Trucking’s business locations or directly into the truck saddle tanks before delivering the load to the designated military installation.

To do so, it is alleged that the drivers would remove the seal intended to prevent theft or contamination, divert the fuel, and replace the seal prior to delivery.

Upon delivery, it is alleged that Latimer would present military personnel with bills of lading that falsely represented it was a full load.

It is also alleged that Latimer Trucking drivers would steal additional fuel by not unloading all of the fuel at the destination and later transferring the remainder into tanks owned by Latimer Trucking at one of their locations.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus mandatory restitution.

The defendants were not in custody and a warrant was to be issued, according to the indictment. Prosecutors recommended that the defendants be on their own recognizance.

Information for defense counsel was not available. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial, at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.


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