Valero Cleans Up, Installs Security After Vandalism

The discovery of a device at gas station that could have been connected to a "fraud skimmer" that steals credit and debit card info has owner Edgar Antenyan cleaning up the station grounds and taking new security measures.

When a Valero attendant discovered damage to pump five when he was opening up the station at 6:30 a.m. on December 27, he called the . Security seals were broken on the pump, the nozzle was damaged, and a security camera and the surrounding property appeared tampered with, said Antenyan. See our photos to look at the aftermath.

 “There was damage to the curb near the trees and the security camera was bent down,” Antenyan told Patch Wednesday morning.

The curb Antenyan is describing is a series of decorative stones that surround the palm trees on the station grounds. Antenyan said he thought the stones could have been used to break pump five open, but police say there was little evidence of forced entry to the pump. 

Lt. Len Hundshamer of the SMPD says that there's some evidence that the latch inside the pump was tampered with. "I certainly think a rock couldn't have caused the damage," said Lt. Hundshamer. Police are still investigating the case. "How [the vandals] got in is still a mystery to us."

Antenyan said that he was stumped as to how such a vandalism could have occurred on a busy street in Sierra Madre.

In response to the incident, inspectors have come to check out all the Valero pumps, and Antenyan is installing a new security system.

“All the pumps have been inspected and no further devices have been found,” Antenyan said. “We are also putting in new cameras and a maximum security system.”

Antenyan has been cooperating with the police and U.S. Secret Service, who he also contacted.

Antenyan wants his customers to feel safe when coming to his station and is saddened that this has taken place once again in Sierra Madre.

“We have always given full service to our customers, and then something like this happens,” he said. “I want to work with the police and Secret Service to catch these crooks.”

Despite the scam, there has been a steady flow of traffic making stops for fill-ups and maintenance at the Valero station. In fact, Antenyan left our interview to personally attend to a customer. He says he has been informing them to check their credit card statements for the last weeks of December to make sure they weren’t victims of fraud.