The above video shows the top local headlines for the morning of June 11, 2026.
LUBBOCK, Texas — Mario Mendoza, 37, hailing from Lovington, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce after being previously indicted by a federal grand jury in Lubbock for his role in a large-scale oil theft conspiracy in the Permian Basin involving 13 others.
According to the factual resume obtained by EverythingLubbock.com, Mendoza admitted to his role in helping others steal crude oil from oil producers in Eastern New Mexico within the Permian Basin. The factual resume states that co-defendant Louis George Edgett, 68, maintained frac and oil tanks on a property he leased in New Mexico. Another co-defendant, Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25, was responsible for facilitating the delivery of the stolen crude oil…