Police arrest suspected grease thieves

LINCOLN, Neb., May 19 (UPI) -- Police in Nebraska said they pulled over a pickup truck believed to have been used in a series of used cooking grease thefts and arrested two suspects.

Lincoln police Capt. Jim Davidsaver said officers pulled over the pickup, which was carrying a large black tank in the bed, about 2 a.m. Wednesday and officers noticed the tank "smelled like old, stale french fries," the Lincoln Journal Star reported Thursday.

Davidsayer said the officers interviewed the couple inside the truck, identified as Christy Harris, 34, of Everton, Mo., and Jesse Moore, 36, of Springfield, Mo., and determined they had recently siphoned grease into the tank from a bin outside of a Lincoln restaurant.

The captain said officers believe the couple may have been involved in a string of similar thefts in the area involving a total of 4,000 pounds of used cooking grease.

The grease is saved by the restaurants to sell to businesses dedicated to converting it into biofuel.

Harris and Moore were arrested on suspicion of larceny.