Man Arrested While Siphoning 250 Gallons From Gas Station

Sometimes gas siphoning thieves are found when they accidentally get gas in their mouths when trying to initiate the transfer from a gas tank to their canisters. This one was caught after the gas station owner got suspicious about the minivan sitting on his lot. When police arrived, they opened the doors to find a generator-powered vacuum slurping up 250 gallons of diesel from the station’s tanks into the plastic drums inside the retrofitted van.

The Smoking Gun reports police said the man drove the van above one of the metal grates that lead to the underground tanks and was able to remove the lids and drop his hoses down. Then he hit the switch and started sucking.

The man was hit with a felony grand theft charge.

It’s a sign of the times that gas prices are high enough that someone thought the risk of stealing gas in bulk was worth the reward. A sheriff’s reported tabulated the value of one of the full drums at $1,019.75.

But maybe he would have gotten even more for it if he planned on selling it at $5.99 a gallon without posting a roadside sign with the price…

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Sucks For Him: Gas Thief Caught In Siphoning Act [The Smoking Gun] (Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!)

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