The man and woman accused of stealing used cooking oil in Braselton also worked fast in Oakwood, police said, where investigators believe six restaurants and food stores were targeted in one February day.

Jason Nicholas Dehart, 30, and Jessica Marie Edgar, 19, both of Winder, have been charged with eight counts each of theft by taking and criminal trespass, Oakwood Investigator Brian Mathis said.

Restaurants targeted were Arby's and Sonny's Barbecue on Mundy Mill Road and Publix and Buffalo's on Winder Highway, Mathis said.

Additional thefts in Oakwood are being investigated, the officer added, with Pizza Hut and Burger King on Mundy Mill Road and Wendy's on Wallace Road logged in a notebook that kick-started oil theft investigations in Gwinnett, Jackson, Barrow and Hall counties, authorities said.

"It was pretty quick. He was occupying a Ford pickup truck that has a (large) tank in the bed of the truck and using a generator and a 3-inch hose. They stick the hose down into the oil container and pump it out," Mathis said. "It takes about five minutes to pump the oil containers out."

The payoff per filled tank is estimated around $500 or more, Mathis said.

He used figures from the oil companies that contract with restaurants to pick up the used waste oil. The companies pay for the oil and make a profit on recycling the waste.

Darling International, the Texas-based company that has contracts with the restaurants to collect used cooking oil, contacted Braselton Police about three alleged thefts in that area, totaling an estimated $1,450 in stolen grease, said Braselton Police Investigator J.D. Gille.

He added that the stolen oil, which is converted into biodiesel fuel, was likely sold to a metro Atlanta company that paid cash without question.

Theft of grease often increases when the price of gasoline goes up.

Dehart and Edgar were arrested Feb. 18 in Barrow County and could face as many as 102 charges, including theft by taking, criminal trespass, burglary and damage to property, Gille said.

A search warrant of the suspects' pickup truck resulted in investigators discovering a storage container used to collect grease, Gille said, as well as a log detailing the dates and locations of the alleged thefts.

The log helped map out the investigation for Mathis when he determined the damages in Oakwood, he said.

Arby's was the only restaurant to report the theft in Oakwood on Jan. 26. Mathis learned through the log that six locations were hit Feb. 1, he said.

Gainesville Police and Hall County Sheriff's Office reported no thefts of cooking oil. However, officers with each agency said it would be checking with Braselton investigators to learn about possible victims.

The Paper contributed to this story.