EVERETT – Fuel prices are so high that crooks are turning into gas guzzlers.
Police have seen an increase in gas thefts at pumps and parking lots while auto parts stores have seen a run on locking gas caps.
“Every time we see gas prices spike, people break out the siphon tubes,” Everett Sgt. Boyd Bryant said Tuesday.
Last week, more than $500 in gas was stolen from vehicles in north Everett, and crooks drained the tanks on seven vehicles parked at an auto repair shop in Sultan.
Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser suspects the jump in gas prices is driving some of the thefts.
“Dopers don’t have a lot of money to spend on gas. They’d rather spend it on drugs or booze,” Walser said.
The regional average gas price was $2.89 a gallon for regular and $3.16 for diesel on Tuesday, according to AAA. Prices spiked for two days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, but have declined slightly since then.
Thieves were so desperate for fuel in Everett that they cut a chain-link fence Sept. 27 at an Everett School District parking lot in the 3700 block of Oakes Avenue and siphoned about 120 gallons of gas from four vehicles, the Everett Police Department reported.
Another 50 gallons was siphoned from company vehicles at a truck rental company in the 800 block of North Broadway that same night.
It isn’t known if the thefts were related.
The vehicles tapped in Sultan were parked outside a repair shop and broken into sometime between Sept. 23 and 25. Walser didn’t know how much gas was taken, but all the tanks were drained, he said.
His department has stepped up patrols at the Sultan park-and-ride lot after receiving complaints about missing gas. It’s likely the crooks are targeting locations where a number of vehicles are sitting for at least a couple of hours at a time, Walser said.
Police also reported a slight increase in thefts at gas stations at businesses that don’t require customers to pay before pumping fuel. Such thieves run the risk of losing their driver’s license in addition to being arrested for third-degree theft, Stanwood Sgt. Rob Palmer said.
“If we get a good license plate, we’ll go knock on a door,” Palmer said.
Palmer said he comes across a couple of thefts at gas stations every month, and about a third of them turn out to be honest mistakes.
Police recommend that businesses require customers to pay before allowing them to pump any gas.
| Police offer the following tips to prevent the theft of gas from your vehicle:
* Use a locking gas cap. * Park in well-lit, visible locations. Park in a garage or driveway rather than on the street, if possible. * Park so your gas tank opening faces the road, so crooks risk being seen by passing traffic. * Avoid parking in one location for extended periods of time. If you’re going to be gone on a trip, park your vehicle at a friend’s house or in a garage. * Gas stations should require pre-payment at the pump, especially at night or if there are few employees working. |
“It’s a crime that could readily be eliminated by a change of business practice,” Bryant said.
Residents can thwart gas thieves for less than $10. Locking gas caps, as inexpensive as $8.99, are flying off the shelves at local auto parts stores.
“Every store has had a run on them,” said Joe Spitzer, an employee at Auto Zone on Evergreen Way. “A locking cap is the first line of defense.”
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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