Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 4-8-22

Crime As Investigation Continues, Service Held
$60,000 In Gas Thefts Lands Seven In Jail
For Teneisha Griffith
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has taken down a crime ring responsi- ble for the theft of gasoline valued at tens of thousands of dollars across Tampa Bay. The month-long investigation was known as “Operation Empty Tank.”
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, “Operation Empty Tank” began on February 25, 2022. Over the course of two days, two Circle K Gas Stations, located at 3702 Highway 41 in Ruskin and 5004 Highway 41 in Apollo Beach, respectively, discov- ered $25,000 in fuel short- ages. After reviewing surveillance cameras, each gas station observed the same strange behavior, where a group of seven trucks would continually cycle through a
single gas pump for more than 12 hours at each station. Detectives were called to investigate, and they quickly discovered that the suspects were breaking into the gas pump panels and in- stalling homemade devices that disabled the pump pul- sar, which calculates the cost per gallon. For pennies per gallon, or in some cases no money at all, seven suspects were able to dispense thou-
sands of dollars in gasoline. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “Don’t think for a minute that these suspects were tampering with the gas pumps in order to ease the burden on everyday drivers. No. They were in this only to
line their own pockets.”
The suspects would rotate through tampered pumps fill-
ing bladders hidden inside or in the bed of their pickup trucks, then drive the trucks to commercial lots to unload the gas into larger gasoline reservoirs before returning to the pump to continue their theft cycle. Ultimately, the suspects would sell the stolen gasoline at half the price of a gas station to independent truck drivers.
Through undercover in- vestigative means, detectives discovered the suspects were stealing gasoline on a nearly daily basis from gas stations all over Tampa Bay. In searching through prior un- solved gas thefts, detectives found cases with the same suspects and trucks involved dating back several months across several counties in- cluding Hillsborough, Her- nando, Pasco, and Pinellas.
TENEISHA GRIFFITH
This Nissan Altima Ms. Griffith was driving is still missing.
On Monday, family mem- bers and friends gathered for a Celebration of Life Service for Ms. Teneisha Griffith. Ms. Griffith was found dead in Pasco County last week. Ms. Griffith was the mother of a daughter. Her funeral will be held next week.
She had originally been reported as a missing person to the Tampa Police Depart- ment.
The last time Ms. Grif- fith, 27, was seen was on March 19th. Her body was found on March 24th, on the side of the road in the La- coochee area near the Her- nando County line. Detectives with the Pasco County Sher- iff’s Office said Ms. Grif- fith’s white 2008 Nissan Altima, license #QSBE04 is still missing.
Her mother, Ms. Maria Navarro-Thomas said, “There’s someone out there that knows something, no matter how minimal the in- formation might be.”
A gofundme page has been established for Ms. Griffith. Organized by Ed- ward Reed, the page reads in part, “Teneisha was funny, loving, caring, and had a heart of gold with a scintil-
lating smile. She loved her 12- year-old daughter. Her daughter looked forward to their weekend outings, which were filled with love and ex- citement.
“The news of her death has caused her daughter an enormous amount of pain, and her entire family, espe- cially her mother, father, and three sisters. ... The funds raised will benefit the efforts to find who’s responsible for Teneisha’s death and the support of her daughter. Jus- tice for Teneisha!!! She did- n’t deserve this!!!”
The gofundme page can be reached at: https://www.go- fundme.com/f/missing- tampa-woman-died-leaving- behind-a-child?utm_cam- paign=p_lico+share- sheet&utm_medium=copy_li nk&utm_source=customer.
If you have any informa- tion regarding the disappear- ance or death of Teneisha, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 873-TIPS (8477). Online tips can be made at www.crimestopperstb.com
You may also report tips to PSO online at PascoSher- iff.com/tips or by calling the PSO Crime Tips Line at 1- 800-706-2488.
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 23-A