A Florida man is charged with stealing over 400 gallons of fuel from a Lexington truck stop.

Pedro Casanova-Gomez, 47, of Fort Myers, Florida, was charged in Dawson County Court with theft by deception, a Class III felony.

Dawson County Court records indicate that on January 20, Casanova-Gomez pulled into Kirk’s Nebraskaland Truck Stop at the Lexington I-80 interchange.  He then got out of his vehicle and proceeded to spray an unknown substance on the lens of a security camera.  A short time later, he entered the store, gave the attendant a credit card, and went back to his vehicle to begin fueling

According to authorities, Casanova-Gomez then manipulated the wiring on the fuel pump and began to pump fuel.  Again, he sprayed a substance on the  security camera, then pulled ahead and added fuel to what appeared to be a refrigeration unit on a trailer.  Upon completion, Casanova-Gomez went back into Kirk’s and paid the attendant $39.78 for just over ten gallons of diesel.

After Casanova-Gomez left, employees noticed that the pump was damaged and reviewed their fuel count.  They noticed that they were missing nearly 400 gallons of fuel, with a value of $1,488.  The damage done to the pump totaled $100.

Casanova-Gomez appeared in Dawson County District Court on Tuesday for arraignment.  He is being held on $20,000 bond.