Crime & Safety
Alleged Warehouse Theft Ring Busted in Undercover Operation
Four employees of a Tampa fertilizer center, two from Valrico and one from Riverview, stole and sold fertilizer from the business, sheriff's office detectives say.
Four men face charges of grand theft after undercover detectives reportedly bought more than 125,000 pounds of stolen fertilizer from a Tampa warehouse, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office report.
The undercover investigation revealed that the stolen fertilizer was in turn sold to farms throughout Florida at reduced rates, according to the report.
"This may have been going on for months," said sheriff's office's spokesman Detective Larry McKinnon.
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Arrested in the case Aug. 10 were David Lamar Boyd, 44, of Riverview; Timothy Arthur Moore, 50, of Plant City; Kelley Todd Faulk, 46, of Valrico; and Scott William Stevens, 42, of Valrico.
Each man faces a charge of grand theft. Stevens, the terminal manager, faces also a charge of trafficking in stolen property.
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According to the report, the investigation began Aug. 3 when the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office was tipped off that an employee of the Kinder-Morgan Storage Facility was stealing fertilizer from the warehouse. The facility is at 4310 Pendola Point Road, just west of 50th Street in Tampa.
Detectives reportedly bought three truckloads of fertilizer, in excess of 125,000 pounds and valued at more than $20,000 dollars.
Detectives do not believe other warehouses were involved.
The investigation is continuing.
