Overview
- The two Perris residents, arrested Tuesday after a search at a Perris home, were booked on fuel-theft counts as the probe continues.
- Deputies named the suspects as Steven Anthony Bailey, 40, and Brian Briseno Mena, 27, and booked them into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
- Bailey faces grand theft, theft of fuel, conspiracy, and organized retail theft charges, while Mena was booked on a felony warrant for theft of fuel.
- Investigators tied the pair to a May 16, 2025 theft in Mecca of about 463 gallons and to a March 11, 2026 Coachella loss of nearly 9,000 gallons worth about $63,000.
- Detectives say the scheme used a tampered diesel pump and vehicles modified to hide and haul fuel, and warrants in Perris, Homeland, and Apple Valley turned up matching evidence.