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player ready...A Chicago man appeared in court Friday on charges of identity theft, attempting to flee authorities and several traffic violations.
According to a news release from the Lake County sheriff’s office, an attendant at a gas station in unincorporated Gurnee became suspicious and alerted a supervisor Thursday after Ernesto Fallat, 52, pumped $1,000 worth of diesel into an Isuzu box truck using two credit cards to pay.
Deputies were dispatched to the station at approximately 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
The gas station in the 36700 block of North 41 had recently been scammed during a similar situation. When Fallat left the gas station, the supervisor called 911 and followed the box truck to inform sheriff’s deputies of the location of the vehicle.
When deputies located the truck in the area of Delany Road and Sunset Avenue in Gurnee, they activated their emergency lights in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop, but Fallat did not stop, according to the release.
While in pursuit, deputies saw Fallat throw a bag out the window prior to finally stopping and being arrested.
The bag was recovered and in it were dozens of gift cards with a magnetic strip, which were likely fraudulently reprogrammed, authorities said.
Sheriff’s deputies also discovered the box truck was holding several containers equaling approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Authorities said the system was rigged so Fallat could look like he was filling up the truck with diesel, but the diesel would go directly to the containers inside the truck.
In an effort to identify potential victims who had their credit card data stolen and fraudulently used, sheriff’s detectives are continuing the investigation of the incident.
In addition, the Illinois State Police will conducting an inspection of the Isuzu to determine if there are hazardous material violations.
Additional criminal charges are likely, authorities said.