Miss. man pleads guilty in cheap gas case

Published 6:50 pm Friday, August 15, 2008

A Gulf Coast gas station owner has been fined $1,000 for selling cheaper gas from higher-octane tanks.

Attorney General Jim Hood says Randy I. Koenenn pleaded guilty Wednesday in Hancock County Justice Court to two counts of imitation of a trade name. Koenenn operates Kodie’s Junction in Kiln.

Along with the fine, Koenenn must pay court costs.

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A routine inspection by the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce led to Koenenn’s arrest last month. Inspectors found that Koenenn was filling his gasoline holding tanks with 87 octane and selling it through 89 octane and 93 octane pumps.

Hood said Koenenn took advantage of people “who have been suffering since Katrina, at a time when they are struggling just to buy enough gas to get to work.”