VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — One of two Norfolk men who were arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of gasolineduring the peak of a price surge last spring pleaded guilty to three felonies in a Virginia Beach courtroom Tuesday morning.
Devon Drumgoole pleaded guilty to grand larceny, conspiracy, and possession of burglary tools, Macie Allen, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's office said.
According to court records, on the night of June 14, 2022, Virginia Beach police officers covertly watched as Drumgoole and a second man, Rashane M. Griffith, dispensed stolen gasoline to a line of customers who were apparently eager to purchase gas at a deeply discounted price.
The illegal fill-ups started about an hour after closing time at the Citgo station on North Great Neck Road, according to a stipulation of facts which Drumgoole signed in court Tuesday.
Officers saw the pair conducting hand-to-hand transactions and waving "some sort of handheld device" in front of the pumps before grabbing the nozzle and filling up numerous vehicles while the drivers remained in their seats.
"After watching this activity for nearly an hour, officers descended on the gas station and detained everyone at the scene," the stipulation said.
Police searched Drumgoole and Griffith and found identical small black handheld devices that are typically used by technicians working on gas pumps. They also found a large wad of cash in Griffith's sock.
The arrests came on the same day AAA's Virginia gas price average reached an all-time high of $4.86 per gallon.
Detectives reached out to the station's owner, who checked the tank summary records and found that over $15,000 in gasoline had been stolen during a five-day period beginning June 9, 2022.
Police later executed a search warrant on Drumgoole's Instagram account, which contained posts like "Gas fill ups tonight at 11! Don't be late and spread the word," and "all gas half off DM me for addy."
Virginia Beach-based attorney George Yates, who is representing Drumgoole in the case, provided the following statement after the hearing Tuesday:
"Devon accepts responsibility for the offense and is prepared to pay for his mistake. He of course agrees to pay back any of the losses by the gas station owner and whatever punishment the court imposes. As you know, this was during the time of high gas prices, and Devon just made a big mistake. He was able to acquire the device he used legally. But he made an illegal use of it — for which he apologizes."
Circuit Court Judge Kevin M. Duffan will formally sentence Drumgoole on May 31.
Griffith, 26, is currently scheduled for a plea hearing on April 18 in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
