14 indicted in alleged Permian Basin crude‑oil theft scheme spanning New Mexico and Texas, prosecutors say

A federal grand jury in Lubbock has indicted 14 people accused of stealing crude oil in eastern New Mexico and hauling it into Texas to resell at cut‑rate prices.

Prosecutors say the scheme targeted the Permian Basin’s vast production network, the oil‑rich region spanning southeastern New Mexico and West Texas that covers more than 86,000 square miles and accounts for the majority of U.S. crude oil production.

All 14 defendants are charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, and several also face counts of interstate transportation and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Indictment outlines alleged operation 

Returned April 8, the indictment alleges the group stole crude oil in eastern New Mexico, some stored on U.S. government-leased land, and resold it to co‑conspirators at prices below the standard U.S. market benchmark.

Prosecutors say the conspirators transported the stolen oil into Texas for resale at a profit, knowing it was stolen.

Texas, New Mexico defendants identified by prosecutors

Texas defendants are James Darrell Reid, 65, and Randell Wayne Reid, 41, owners of Texas-based Reidco Enterprises and both of Electra – about 25 miles northwest of Wichita Falls and 115 miles from Fort Worth – along with Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, about 80 miles west of Midland.

The remaining 11 defendants are from Lovington, a southeastern New Mexico community of about 11,690 people, roughly 20 miles west of the Texas state line and squarely inside the Permian Basin.

They include:

• Louis George Edgett, 68;
• Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25;
• Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43;
• Gyardo Gonzalez, 47;
• Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, 51;
• Diana Marquez Rojo, 45;
• Jose Luis Rojo, 49;
• Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, 37;
• Miguel A. Soto, 41;
• Tavares Montrail Cole, 48; and
• Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42.

Potential penalties outlined by DOJ 

According to prosecutors, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years per count for interstate transportation, possession, or sale of stolen property.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Division, and sheriff’s offices in Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.

CBS News Texas will provide updates as additional information becomes available.