Last defendant sentenced in North Dakota oil theft scheme

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The last of four men charged in a scheme to steal millions of dollars worth of crude oil in western North Dakota has been sentenced. Darrell Woody Merrell, of Watford City, North Dakota, on Thursday pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft conspiracy and dealing in stolen property. A state district court judge sentenced him to serve nearly a year in jail and two years of supervised probation and to pay $200,000 restitution. Defense attorney Bob Bolinske Jr. told The Associated Press the jail se

millions of dollars worth of crude oil in western North Dakota has been sentenced.

“It's nothing he's happy about, but it was a lot of relief off of him and kind of a testament to his information that he provided regarding a lot of other bad activity going on out there with relation to oil,” Bolinske said. The judge had previously rejected an initial plea deal with no jail time, he said.

Authorities in 2022 alleged the scheme in which truck drivers Merrell and Vandewalker skimmed crude oil by manipulating equipment during deliveries to a Crestwood Midstream facility, and stored the oil in tanks near Watford City, to be sold later. Merrell told a sheriff's deputy last year that Garcia “approached him about stealing crude oil,” according to the deputy's affidavit.“It quickly grew, as it does when you get wrapped up into something like this, you start seeing dollar signs and it quickly grew out of hand,” Merrell said, according to the affidavit.

Garcia pleaded guilty in December 2022 to felony charges of theft conspiracy and leading a criminal association. The judge sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

 

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