Two Men Arrested for Stealing Gas from Selma School District

SELMA – Two Tulare men who allegedly stole hundreds of gallons of fuel from a Selma Unified School District fueling depot were arrested earlier this week.

Selma Unified School District Fueling Depot

Police took 30-year-old Joseph Staton and 26-year-old Barry King, both of Tulare, on Tuesday morning near the Visalia Motel 6 in Visalia, following a 30-minute, slow-speed chase.

Police wanted the men in connection to the theft of fuel from the Selma school district earlier that morning. Three men were spotted filling up storage containers with fuel at the district’s transportation facility in the 1100 block of Valley View Street around 2:30 a.m. by an Officer patrolling the area.

As the Officer approached the men in his vehicle, they jumped into their U-Haul and took off. They got onto southbound Highway 99, with police behind them. Officers deployed roadway spike strips in Visalia, which substantially slowed down the U-Haul, but the men kept driving, despite moving at only approximately 10 mph. The U-Haul finally stopped six miles later. Staton and King were found inside the U-Haul and were arrested, according to authorities.

The men had stolen approximately 620 gallons of diesel fuel and 100 gallons of unleaded fuel, police said.

A third suspect, who has not been named, was caught in Tulare County driving a truck that had been spotted at the district’s fueling station.

Read More:

Visalia Times Delta- Local Fuel Thieves Had Pump Key, Were Not School District Employees

ABC30- Police Arrest 2 for Stealing Fuel from Selma School District