OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. — Two men in a Home Depot rental truck allegedly tried to steal cooking oil from Connecticut restaurants before crashing into an elderly woman and leading police on a pursuit on Thursday.
According to WTIC, Prince Gonzalez, 26, and Leuri DeLeon Blanco, 21, attempted to steal cooking oil from multiple restaurants in Connecticut.
Old Saybrook police in a news release said the owner of a pizza restaurant reported that he had interrupted two men trying to steal some cooking oil from his restaurant and they had fled. He told police that he saw the men trying to steal cooking oil at another restaurant but they were confronted by the employees working there. The men then allegedly fled the area in a Home Depot rental truck.
Police said officers located the rental truck and tried unsuccessfully to get the driver to pull over, according to the news release. The truck continued going and hit another car and then took off again, leading police on a chase. The driver in the car that was hit was an elderly woman and she was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
WTIC said police put up some stop spikes that eventually led Gonzalez and Blanco to drive off the roadway.
Police said the truck was filled with about 1,000 gallons of stolen cooking oil. They also said the truck was from New York and was three days overdue.
Gonzalez and Blanco are both facing local and state theft and police pursuit charges, according to WTIC. Both are being held on a $50,000 bond.
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