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Men charged with stealing diesel fuel from Johnston Co. toilet rental company

Two men were arrested in Johnston County in early May after officers said they illegally entered a portable toilet rental company facility and stole 20 gallons of diesel fuel from a tank stored on-site.

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CLAYTON, N.C. — Two men were arrested in Johnston County in early May after officers said they illegally entered a portable toilet rental company facility and stole 20 gallons of diesel fuel from a tank stored on-site.

According to the incident report, the owner of Blu Site Solutions, located at 134 Uzzle Industrial Drive, said his motion detection-operated security camera captured two people in a pickup truck with an attached trailer stealing diesel from the company's diesel tank on May 5.

Multiple deputies from the Johnston County Sheriff's Office responded to Blu Site Solutions, where they found Emmanuel Frederick, 45, standing near the truck and tank.

When they asked what he was doing, Frederick told the responding deputies his friend worked for the company and gave him the code to access the locked site, which is surrounded by a barbed wire fence. He said he was there to "drink and hang out with some girls," the report stated.

Frederick told deputies the "friend" had left to buy beer.

Deputies kept Frederick nearby while they searched the property, but they didn't find a second man. During the search, they found marijuana in the truck, which was registered to James Arthur Cook, 42. Deputies said Cook fled the scene before officers arrived.

The company owner arrived and showed deputies the video of two men siphoning gas into two tanks in their trailer.

Deputies seized the truck and trailer and charged Frederick with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny.

Cook was later arrested on the same charges.

According to the JoCo Report, investigators believe the men may be connected to another diesel fuel theft reported 11 days earlier, when approximately 500 gallons of diesel, a $2,600 value, was stolen.

Frederick and Cook were both being held in the Johnston County Detention Center under $70,000 and $100,000 secured bonds, respectively.

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