Six people pleaded guilty in federal court on July 15 to stealing crude oil from Permian Basin producers and selling it for a fraction of its market value, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced.
The pleas are part of a 14-defendant case built on a seven-count federal indictment returned by a Lubbock grand jury on April 8. U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould announced the charges in April, alleging all 14 defendants conspired to transport stolen property across state lines. Several face additional counts of interstate transportation and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property.
The six who pleaded guilty on July 15 are Gyardo Gonzalez, 47, Mario Mendoza, 40, and Miguel A. Soto, 41, all of Lovington, New Mexico; Luis Rojo, 51, of Seminole, Texas; Diana Marquez Rojo, 47, of Hobbs, New Mexico; and Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, of Hobbs, New Mexico.
Filed plea papers show the defendants admitted stealing tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil from producers in eastern New Mexico and selling it to co-conspirators Louis George Edgett, 69, of Lovington, and Brenden Floyd Strickland, 26, of Hobbs. Edgett and Strickland paid between $10 and $15 per barrel, well below West Texas Intermediate benchmark prices.
One defendant sold 10,975 barrels to Edgett and Strickland between June 2022 and July 2024 — oil with a fair market value of approximately $888,975 — and collected just $164,625. A second defendant sold 9,090 barrels of oil between January and June 2024, valued at $724,200.30, for roughly $136,350. A third admitted the crude he stole carried a value of up to $1.5 million.
The indictment alleges Edgett and Strickland then sold the stolen crude oil to James Darrell Reid, 65, and Randell Wayne Reid, 41, both of Electra, Texas, who own Reidco Enterprises. The Reids allegedly hauled the oil across the New Mexico-Texas state line to their Seminole, Texas, business site and resold it to midstream buyers at below-market prices. The Reids remain charged and have not pleaded guilty.
A seventh defendant, Tavares Montrail Cole, 49, has also admitted in filed plea papers to participating in the conspiracy. His arraignment is set for August 3.
Eight defendants remain charged in the case, including Edgett, Strickland, the two Reids, Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, Texas, Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43, Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42, and Cole. Those defendants face between five and 65 years in federal prison and millions of dollars in fines if convicted. All uncharged defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The six who pleaded guilty each face up to 5 years in federal prison, except Diana Marquez Rojo, who faces up to 3 years, plus fines of up to $250,000, restitution, and forfeiture. No sentencing dates have been set.
The Bureau of Land Management, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, and the Lea and Eddy County sheriff’s offices in New Mexico all worked the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is prosecuting the case; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Howey previously led it.
Texas lawmakers filed multiple bills during the 2025 legislative session targeting crude oil theft, with state Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland) leading the push. The Texas Railroad Commission and Texas DPS have also launched task force initiatives aimed at theft across the Permian Basin.
Provided by Dallas Express
