Gas Station Thief Guzzles 1,100 Gallons
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Officials think the thief may have used a secret code to manipulate the machinery.
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.
