Residents in Richmond say numerous cars had their gas tanks drilled and siphoned this week.
Thieves drilled a hole in the gas tank of Nory Madjlessi's pickup truck early Thursday morning.
He thinks he must have scared the crooks off when he tried to leave for work at 3 a.m. because they left the gas behind.
"We looked around and there was a container with a broken bottle cut off and they put it directly underneath the gas tank," Madjlessi said.
The gas thieves targeted several other cars in the area.
"It’s just a headache, the whole thing, dealing with that," Madjlessi said. "But what are you going to do?"
Others in the Point Richmond neighborhood say crime has recently spiked in the area with gas prices on the rise and people struggling.
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"It’s like we’re all going to get it," Curt Springer said. "We're all going to either get vandalized or stolen from or something is going to happen. It’s just like clockwork."
Springer’s car was burglarized this week.
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Thieves also stole 300 feet of copper-filled cable, impacting phone and internet service for some. AT&T crews spent all day trying to repair it.
Tony Carracci opened his new BBQ food truck this week and was targeted on his very first day. Four cases of spare ribs were taken.
"Everything‘s been really wonderful except at nighttime," Carraci said.
