HEMET, Calif. (AP) — Two men are accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of used cooking grease from a Riverside County McDonald's.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports the owner staked out the McDonald's in Hemet because thieves had been targeting restaurants to steal grease for selling to recyclers.
Restaurant grease fetches a good price — 30 to 40 cents a pound — because it can be refined into biodiesel fuel.
At about 1:50 a.m. Friday, the owner called police as 22-year-old Noel Portillo of Compton and 24-year-old Ricardo Robles of Long Beach were allegedly stealing grease.
Police arrived to find the two men inside a pickup truck with the engine running and a large metal tank mounted in its bed.
After reviewing surveillance tape, the men were arrested and the truck was impounded.
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