BEDFORD — An Oolitic man is facing a criminal theft charge after allegedly driving away from a Bedford gas station without paying for more than $130 worth of fuel.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Department Officer Steven Hatton Jr., an arrest warrant has been requested for 55-year-old Byron P. Ira of Oolitic. Ira faces a preliminary charge of Theft under $750, a misdemeanor in the state of Indiana.
The incident occurred on May 15, 2026, at approximately 11:03 a.m. Officer Hatton was dispatched to the BP gas station located at 2504 16th Street in Bedford following a report of a theft.
Upon arrival, the responding officer interviewed the female gas station employee. She reported that a white male driving a maroon Ford F250 pickup truck pulled up to one of the pumps and asked her to activate it. Trusting the customer, the employee turned the pump on.
According to the affidavit, once the driver finished fueling his truck, he failed to enter the store to settle his bill and instead drove away from the property. The employee described the driver as wearing a hat and a Nike jacket, noting he had closely buzzed hair on the back of his head. She added that the suspect’s face looked familiar to her.
The employee provided police with a photograph of the truck’s rear license plate, as well as an image capturing the color, make, and model of the vehicle. Receipts printed by the business confirmed that the total value of the stolen fuel amounted to $137.86.
When Officer Hatton ran the vehicle’s license plate through state and national law enforcement databases (IDACS/NCIC/BMV), the registration returned to a completely different vehicle—a blue 2008 GMC Sierra registered to Byron Ira. Investigators noted in the report that the license plate attached to the maroon Ford F250 appeared to be “false and fictitious.”
Officer Hatton returned to the BP station and presented the employee with a BMV photograph of Ira. She positively identified the man in the photo as the driver who stole the fuel, noting that he had simply been wearing a hat during the incident. Once provided his name, the employee confirmed that she did indeed know the individual.
Bedford police attempted to contact Ira by phone, but the telephone number on file within their dispatch system was no longer in service. Because Ira’s registered home address on Walnut Street in Oolitic sits outside of Bedford city limits, officers were unable to attempt immediate in-person contact.
The BP gas station has provided law enforcement with security photographs of the truck, the fictitious plate, and the unpaid transaction receipts, all of which have been entered into the case file as evidence.
Police requested a warrant for Ira’s arrest. He was detained on June 6.
Those facing criminal charges are considered innocent until proven guilty through a fair and due legal process. Accusations alone do not imply guilt; the judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.
