Steamboat Springs Police arrested another man for allegedly stealing around 500 gallons of fuel worth more than $2,000 from the Pilot Flying J gas station at 4:45 p.m. Friday, according to Sgt. Braxton Shirley.

Victoriano Cayetano Leon is the third man to be arrested for fuel theft this month. The previous two arrests were made together on Dec. 5.

According to an arrest affidavit, Cayetano Leon was arrested and charged with felony theft and conspiracy along with third-degree burglary and driving under a suspended or revoked license.

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Police became aware of the theft in process after an employee at a nearby business reported a white Ford F-450 truck had been loading fuel at the gas station “for over an hour,” according to arrest documents.

Detectives who responded to the scene reportedly asked Cayetano Leon why it was taking so long to fill up his gas tank. “(Cayetano Leon) said that he needed 300 gallons to fill up a semi-truck that was on the side of the road broken down.”

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Investigating officers asked Cayetano Leon where he was headed after filling up, “and he said Silverthorne,” according to the affidavit. Officers also asked where he came from and, “he said Denver.”

“(The officer) asked why he would come up to Steamboat to fill up on fuel and (the suspect) said, ‘I don’t know.'”

“Due to the information given there was not a logical reason why (Cayetano Leon) would go so far out of his way to obtain fuel from this particular Pilot fuel station,” the affidavit stated.

“It should be noted that (Cayetano Leon) said he needed 300 gallons to fill up the semi-truck. With the flow rate above being 20 gallons per minute, it should have only taken approximately 15 minutes to fill up 300 gallons, yet he was on scene filling up for over an hour,” according to the arrest documents.

The affidavit also noted that officers received consent from Cayetano Leon to search the vehicle and, during the search, found a court summons issued to 33-year-old Jose. W. Cantoral Quixaj.

According to the police documents, Quixaj had been arrested in connection to an investigation for a separate case of a fuel theft reported at the Toponas Country General Store that involved a pickup truck, “containing multiple large capacity fuel tanks similar to, but not the same, as the one (involved in the Friday arrest).”

Cayetano Leon has remained at the Routt County Detention Center after a judge issued a $7,500 bond following his arrest which he had not posted as of Monday afternoon, according to the county clerk’s office.

The recent fuel thefts reported this month are suspected to be linked to “large organized crime and gangs,” according to Steamboat Springs Police Det. Sgt. Sam Silva.

The Steamboat Springs Police Department has been aware of the issue in the area since similar incidents that occurred near Toponas in August, according to Silva, who added that the issue is nationwide and not specific to the state or Steamboat Springs.

“From what we were able to gather on the scene, and from what the employees from the Pilot gas station (said), we determined that there was probable cause to arrest (Cayetano Leon) for stealing gas,” Shirley said.

Law enforcement suspects around 500 gallons of fuel were stolen because that was what was found in the vehicle. However, the exact amount stolen has not been confirmed.

Shirley added that law enforcement is currently “unsure” if Cayetano Leon had stolen fuel from the Pilot gas station in the past.

Steamboat Pilot & Today reporter Trevor Ballantyne contributed to this article.