Oilfield Thieves Caught In The Act

LIBERTY, March 17, 2010 - On Wednesday, March 17, the Liberty Police Department received a call of a theft in progress in the river bottom area known as Texaco Road. Officers Jeanne Marie Ewing and Michael Prado responded to the scene. When they arrived, a Samson Oil employee, Dwight Lumpkins, had two young men detained. Lumpkins described how he caught the two men taking oilfield equipment from the Samson property. Detective Chip Fairchild was also called to the scene to assist with the investigation.

The investigation showed approximately $6,400 worth of equipment had been removed from the property. The equipment included oilfield related items such as scrubbers and metal flanges. There was also damage to fencing and locks. While the stolen equipment was recovered, there will have to be repairs on the fencing and locks.

Billy Kneer	Brandon Lichtenwalter

Arrested at the scene were Billy Kneer, 18, of Dayton, and Brandon Lichtenwalter, 19, of Dayton. Both men were booked-in to the Liberty County Jail for the offenses of Theft, and Criminal Mischief. Brandon Lichtenwalter was also booked-in for Possession of Marijuana, because of a small amount of substance that was found on his person, incident to arrest.

The Liberty Police Department has experienced an increase in calls to the Texaco Road area in the past few months. Last week, two men were arrested for trespassing on oilfield property. With metal thefts on the rise, the various oil companies in the river bottom area of the city have been more alert to people and vehicles in the oilfield. There are only a handful of residences in the area, so people that aren’t in the oilfield business tend to stick out. LPD recommends that people wanting access to the Trinity River use the public boat ramp at the Port of Liberty, instead of trying to access the river from Texaco Road. There are numerous gates along the Texaco Road passages that are subject to being closed and locked at any time. There’s also the risk of a person not exactly knowing where property lines are, and those properties can have several different interests that are willing to prosecute.