A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after a St. Mary’s County deputy said he witnessed him attempting to breach a grease dumpster behind a Lexington Park restaurant.
Hamsel Lugo Peralta, 19, of Silver Spring, Maryland, told deputies that he was taking used grease from a Valley Proteins dumpster, and that he had already taken from another nearby grease dumpster at a Pizza Boli’s restaurant, which had two locks broken.
Peralta told deputies that he was able to open the top of the Pizza Boli’s dumpster and insert a hose, which sucked the grease out into one of two 330-gallon containers inside of his vehicle. He was stopped by Deputy First Class Phillip Henry during a premise check at the shopping center before he could obtain the grease from the second dumpster.
According to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, the two containers’ worth of grease would be worth $3,000 after sale.
Peralta was transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown; he faces several theft and destruction charges.