Two Nipomo men arrested in connection with fuel thefts from ranches and farms

Two Nipomo men were arrested last week in connection with a rash of rural fuel thefts in the Santa Maria Valley.

Martin Uvias Jacobo, 28, and Leandro Diaz Perez, 49, were arrested by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office rural crime unit and charged with burglary, grand theft, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, filing a false police report and petty theft.

Since June, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies had been investigating some 17 cases of fuel thefts from numerous ranches and farms in the Santa Maria Valley totaling more than $5,600, according to a news release. Approximately 350 gallons of stolen fuel was located on one of the suspect’s ranches in Nipomo.

Also arrested in the case were Julio Rodriguez-Bautista, 28, and Jose Antonio Rojas, 43, both of Santa Maria.

This story was originally published September 11, 2012 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Two Nipomo men arrested in connection with fuel thefts from ranches and farms."