High gas prices have led to high-stakes gas thievery, with thieves disabling or rigging pumps to get free or discounted gas, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Thieves recently pried open several pumps, disabling gauges so they could steal about 1,200 gallons of mid-level and premium gasoline worth nearly $5,200 from the BP station on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
“I think it’s crazy. People are extremely desperate nowadays,” station owner Robert Eaves told Channel 2. “I think the people who are doing it see the BP sign, think it's big oil, they'll never miss it, but in reality, I'm a father, I'm a husband. I'm trying to make ends meet as well.”
Eaves said he suspects thieves first came into the store to prepay for a few dollars of gas to get the pumps going, and that the thefts took place over several days. He’s going through surveillance video to see if he can spot the culprits.
In another recent theft, at a gas station in Decatur, someone stole 400 gallons of fuel in a matter of minutes. The station’s owner told Channel 2 that the thief rigged a pump so drivers paid only pennies on the dollar for the gas. He said older pumps are vulnerable to such tampering.
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