Its starting to get bad...Gas thieves drilling holes into tanks of parked vehicles

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http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14163056

FORT MILL, SC (WBTV) - Police are looking for thieves who are stealing gasoline by drilling holes into gas tanks of parked vehicles.
The York County Sheriff's Office says there have been five incidents reported in the Baxter Village and Bailiwyck areas of Fort Mill.
The thefts are taking place at night. Some of the victims did not realize that someone had drilled into their gas tanks until the vehicle was at a repair shop.
The incidents have occurred on Camber Woods Drive, Jones Wade Court, Stafford Run Drive, Lower Assembly Drive, and Glenn Allen Way.


Peter Dressel told police between 4 p.m. on Jan. 21 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 22, someone went underneath his gray 2006 Ford F-150 and drilled a hole in the tank. The estimated damage to his truck was about $1,400. The thief stole a half tank of gas valued between $42-$48.
Between Jan. 21 and Jan. 23, someone did the same thing to Ron Pulis' 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 truck. Pulis said it cost him $950 to repair the truck.
On Feb. 13, Kevin Knape reported that someone punched a hole into the tank of his 2005 Ford F-150.
Kathy Tuttle called police on Feb. 14 and reported that as she was filling up her truck at the gas station, she noticed gas was running out from under the vehicle. She took the truck to a repair shop and they advised that it appeared someone drilled a hole in the tank.
Most of the vehicles targeted have been pickup trucks, but James Walters' 2010 gray Honda Civic was also targeted.
Walters said someone drilled a small hole in the gas tank of his car between Feb. 18 and Feb. 20. He said it would cost about $1,000 to repair the tank. Walters had the vehicle towed to the dealership to be repaired.
The sheriff's office says drilling into a tank filled with gasoline is dangerous and could result in a fire or explosion. If you see anyone acting suspicious around vehicle, you should note the description of the person as well as the license tag of the vehicle they are driving.
 
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A sheet metal screw & a rubber washer would be a lot cheaper than replacing the whole tank
 

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http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14163056 The sheriff's office says drilling into a tank filled with gasoline is dangerous and could result in a fire or explosion. If you see anyone acting suspicious around vehicle, you should note the description of the person as well as the license tag of the vehicle they are driving.

Better yet, I'll call Homicide out to the scene to process the body.
 

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A sheet metal screw & a rubber washer would be a lot cheaper than replacing the whole tank

Thats what i was thinking , that tank is empty im sure i could use some heat silicon then tack a small piece on it .. or like you said a rubber washer and screw.. a hole sucks but you shouldnt have to replace the whole tank ffs
 

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Ha thats a good one..liquid gold...I was thinking how easy the truck rental around the corner could be targeted..but I guess most of them are diesel..Imagine getting in your car that had half a tank and trying to start it in the morning..SOB will turn over and not start or worse yet go a few blocks thinking that gas gauge is lying and will raise and you conk out of gas in traffic
 

Rx God
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I've never thought about how to steal gas before, but my thoughts would run this way....

instead of drilling into the tank and waiting for it to drip into a pan ( I guess ?) then pouring the pan into a 5 gallon gas can ( or your car ?)

I'd do this....

attack an older truck ( like my 2000 F-150) with no locking cap and pump the fuel out with a cordless drill (has to be faster) Preferably directly into your tank.....5 gallons of gas in a can would weigh about 40 lbs and be worth under $20, you can't really carry that far.

Even a locking cap should be pretty easy to get off with a giant pair of channel-lock pliers. I'd go from the topside , not the bottom....if my mission was to steal gas. You'd still need at at least a drill motor. You might as well use that with a pump attachment and attack the gas cap ( IMO).

Gas isn't costly enough to do this unless you are 100% certain you can't get caught doing it, if so then siphon from the top.

Anybody that tries to steal gas will be in prison in short time. If you have to resort to theft, gas isn't the thing to steal. Shoplifting and fencing should be easier, or being a burglar.....has to be a better crime than stealing gasoline.
 

Rx Dragon Puller
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^ electric pump and highway equipment overnight ... lots of diesel lol
 

Rx God
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still risky and why drill from the bottom ? Pry the freaking cap off the tank if you're gonna do it.

that seems a lot safer to me and easier !

I'd rather break in from the top instead of drill from the bottom.
 

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A quote from Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction comes to mind. Not verbatim, but- "It would been worth them doing it if I could have caught them doing it".
 

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You wont see it on the news but they are already hijacking tanker trucks all around texas and louisiana. Come mid March when the supply from Saudi and Venezuala are cut at the same time its going to be chaos the likes we never dreamed of in 1976/77....
We'll be watching Katrinas all over the country ....minus the storm..
I have to laugh when i hear people saying we will start drilling more here when the overseas supplies are cut off. That is a joke. 1st off Obama has already defied 2 Federal court orders to allow drilling. 2 of at least 5 orders he his turning his nose up at as Dictator .
2nd virtually all the drilling companies and material suppliers are owned now by Chinese and South American companies....we have nothing to drill with and no way to make anything..
3rd the EPA has no intention of allowing anything oil related to be profitable if done in a U.S. territorry........You can forget domestic oil under the current constitution hating Dictatorship we know live under....

I know im crazy but $7 a gallon gas by the end of the month will not shock me....by the end of the year???? what gas????
 

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kids stealing gas from cars has been going on since the invention of the car.

without a doubt this is some 16 to 21 year old neighborhood kid that doesn't want to "waste" his $80 paycheck on gas for his car.
 

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You wont see it on the news but they are already hijacking tanker trucks all around texas and louisiana. Come mid March when the supply from Saudi and Venezuala are cut at the same time its going to be chaos the likes we never dreamed of in 1976/77....
We'll be watching Katrinas all over the country ....minus the storm..
I have to laugh when i hear people saying we will start drilling more here when the overseas supplies are cut off. That is a joke. 1st off Obama has already defied 2 Federal court orders to allow drilling. 2 of at least 5 orders he his turning his nose up at as Dictator .
2nd virtually all the drilling companies and material suppliers are owned now by Chinese and South American companies....we have nothing to drill with and no way to make anything..
3rd the EPA has no intention of allowing anything oil related to be profitable if done in a U.S. territorry........You can forget domestic oil under the current constitution hating Dictatorship we know live under....

I know im crazy but $7 a gallon gas by the end of the month will not shock me....by the end of the year???? what gas????

no way gas doubles in price in a month. I could $4 and $5 by mid-summer, but not $7 this year. $7 gas will send us into a Depression.
 

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it's almost mathematically impossible for gas to hit $7/gal this summer.

demand would have to remain the same and supply would need to be cut drastically.

I can't see the demand remaining the same if gas gets near $4. people would cut back on driving therefore reducing demand thus keeping prices in check.
 

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it's almost mathematically impossible for gas to hit $7/gal this summer.

demand would have to remain the same and supply would need to be cut drastically.

I can't see the demand remaining the same if gas gets near $4. people would cut back on driving therefore reducing demand thus keeping prices in check.


I think it tops out near 4.50
 

Rx God
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I could see $5 gas around the fourth of July, maybe a tad higher, but not $7.

$7 a gallon is just crippling high in a country lacking mass transit.

That will cripple the economy.
 

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Way over $4 a gallon up here already.
 

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