Two trucking company workers arrested for stealing truckloads of asphalt, California sheriff says

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) arrested two trucking company employees for the “theft and embezzlement of reclaimed asphalt belonging to a paving contractor.”

On July 12, 2026, TCSO Agricultural Detectives arrested Christoper Romo, 37, and Omar Tapia Lopez, 36, on charges of Grand Theft, Embezzlement, and Conspiracy.

The two suspects were employees of a Tulare, California, trucking company.

An investigation was launched after the trucking company noticed discrepancies in their records, with loads of asphalt never arriving at the assigned destination.

“After realizing that trucks were making unauthorized stops while transporting reclaimed asphalt, the trucking company contacted us,” a TCSO spokesperson said.

TCSO investigators reportedly learned that Romo diverted multiple truckloads of paving material to a private property in Delano over a period of several weeks.

TCSO further alleges that Tapia Lopez was “participating in separate unauthorized deliveries to another property.”

On July 12, TCSO set up surveillance and caught the two suspects in the act as Romo dumped a load of reclaimed asphalt at an unauthorized location. Soon after, Tapia Lopez “came along to do the exact same thing, which we’ve learned he did many times before,” TCSO said.

Police stepped in and arrested the two suspects without incident.

The total loss for the trucking company was $11,000, police said.

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