Upper Darby police has issued a warrant for the arrest of a Philadelphia man accused of taking used cooking oil from a popular township restaurant.
Police have filed charges against Joshua Ramirez of the 4700 block of Leiper Street for theft, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime and conspiracy.
According to the criminal complaint filed by township detective Gerald Pucci:
The investigation showed that about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 20, two males arrived in the lot behind Wilson’s Secret Sauce restaurant in the 200 block of East Township Line Road.
Joshua Ramirez (COURTESY PHOTO)
The Home Depot truck they were driving had “ZEON” graffiti written on it. The driver walked to where the cooking oil is kept and then returned to the truck and drove away.
At 7:09 a.m. the truck returned and the two men got out and used a green hose to siphon 100 gallons of the oil, valued at $120, and then left.
Investigators reviewed a nearby license plate reader system utilizing time of the theft. They located the truck as having traveled on Township Line Road at Lynn Boulevard at 6:24 and again at 6:09 a.m.
The truck was leased to Home Depot Moving on Castor Avenue in Philadelphia.
Police contacted the company and learned the driver’s license of the operator was Ramierz.
Police also learned that another victim reported that two subjects stole cooking oil from Luigi’s Bar & Grill in the 400 block of Burmont Road on Friday Sept. 26.
Surveillance video showed the same Home Depot truck with two males arriving at 4:43 a.m. They pull a green hose out of the rear and extract liquid from a container and then leave. The loss in that theft was estimated at about $25.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said Ramierz is not yet in custody. Investigators are also looking to identify the second occupant.
Steve Wilson, the owner, offered a reward of a barbecue meal for the arrest of the two. On Wednesday, Wilson said an anonymous person had helped identify the suspect but that person hadn’t claimed the meal.
Dining and Cooking