MIDLAND, Texas — Federal authorities along with the help of Andrews County and Crane County have filed a criminal complaint against 36-year-old Juan Carlos Rodriguez and 30-year-old Jose Leonardo Rodriguez-Angeles.
Both men are accused of plotting a scheme to steal oil from the Andrews County area and transport it to various locations, with New Mexico being one of the places of transportation included.
The complaint alleges that on May 28, 2020, both men stole over 500 barrels of oil from at least three production lease locations around Andrews and transported the stolen oil across state lines into New Mexico, where it was disposed near Eunice, New Mexico.
The complaint goes further to allege that the men stole 100 additional barrels of oil on Sept. 3, 2020 from various locations around Andrews and took it to a disposal location in Odessa, TX.
On Sept. 4, during the early morning hours, state authorities stopped the defendants following their return from Andrews County and arrested them after attempting to steal again from a previous victim company.
The defendants are being held in custody at this time and if convicted both Juan Carlos Rodriguez and Jose Leonardo Rodriguez-Angeles face up to 10 years in federal prison for each theft of an interstate shipment and interstate transportation of stolen property.
The defendants also face up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy.
The investigation of these crimes are being investigated by the FBI's Permian Basin Oilfield Theft Task Force, which includes the Ector County Sheriff's Office, the Crane County Sheriff's Office, and the Andrew's County Sheriff's Office.
