A thirsty thief stole $5,500 worth of gasoline in a tiny Medocino village called Gualala, according to the Press Democrat.
Nobody would have noticed if not for an employee's check of fuel levels. Over a thousand gallons were missing when they measured a tank's contents.
It's unclear how the thief was able to suck out all that fuel, but it may have been an inside job. A sports car and a U-haul were hanging out at the station around 4am, and were probably responsible. Officials suggested that they may have used a secret code to manipulate the machinery.
It may not be the first time the thief has struck. At a nearby gas station, someone had recently used a special key to unlock a pump, but the machinery failed for some reason and they weren't able to steal anything.
And there may soon be many more targets for such evil-doers. Oil giant Chevron is currently scheming to clog neighborhoods with expanded gas stations, adding retail operations to their clusters of massive underground fuel tanks near homes and businesses.
Gas Station Thief Guzzles 1,100 Gallons
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