California police on hunt for gas thieves as prices skyrocket
With gas prices hitting new records in California, police are dealing with thieves who steal fuel from gas stations and other facilities.
Last month, police in the Antelope Valley were looking for thieves who stole gas from car and truck rental agencies.
Now, police in Roseville are looking for gasoline thieves who struck two stations, taking nearly 1,000 gallons of the increasingly expensive fuel.
Gas was stolen last week from a Shell station near the Roseville Square shopping center. And a few days earlier, thieves had made an unsuccessful attempt at a 76 station a few blocks away, Fox40 in Sacramento reported.
But security cameras caught the thief using a credit card. The pump's meter was somehow disabled, and the manager had to check records to show that the gas was taken.
He directed the California Air Resources Board to increase the fuel supply by allowing the immediate sale and import of cheaper and more available winter-blend gasoline.
The move would reduce the price of gas in California by 15 to 20 cents per gallon, probably within a few days, said energy expert Chris Faulkner of Dallas-based Breitling Oil and Gas.
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--From a Times staff writer