Connecticut men arrested for stealing cooking oil from restaurant

The restaurant owner caught them red-handed.

ELLINGTON, Connecticut – Two men were arrested Tuesday for illegally siphoning used cooking oil from an Ellington restaurant, state police said.

The restaurant owner called police when he saw two men in a white, unmarked van using a hose to pump used oil into the back of the van, state police said.

As the men drove away, police say the owner stayed on the phone with police and told them where the van had gone.

Police said they stopped the van as it entered Interstate 84 in Vernon. After an investigation, police identified the men as Jonat Gutierrez Rosario, 34, and Ronald Gutierrez-Sant, 29. The men said they were on their way home to New York but declined to answer questions about their origins, police said.

Police said they then called the business owner and he confirmed that the men and the van were the same ones he had seen behind his restaurant.

The men were arrested during the police investigation. Police said they found a large white oil tank in the back of the van that was about 30% full.

After the oil was found, the men were arrested. Both were charged with three counts of theft of personal property. Both were released on $100,000 bail and will be arraigned later Tuesday.

Lindsey Fine is a digital content producer for FOX61 News. You can reach her at [email protected].

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