Gasoline prices are slowly falling, much to the relief of drivers everywhere. According to the Automobile Association of America (AAA), prices are down in Santa Barbara County from a high of $4.70 in June to a current tally of $4.04.
And, in at least one part of Santa Maria, gasoline is free—with a little bit of illegal effort, that is. Some person or group has resorted to stealing gas by cutting tubes and draining the fuel from vehicles at 3130 Skyway Dr., home to a variety of businesses and organizations, including the Santa Maria Sun.
The industrial neighborhood, directly across from the Santa Maria Airport, has been the scene of a string of gasoline thefts, according to Ron Tesdahl with Pacifica Property Management Company.
Tesdahl is in charge of maintenance at the location, and he has a list of companies that have reported gasoline thefts. The first incident happened about six weeks ago at Graybar Electric Co., Inc. Two weeks after that, Tesdahl received a report of a theft at Coit Drapery Carpet Cleaners, then the Church For Life, and, most recently, the U.S. Geological Survey offices.
“It’s too bad, you know,” Tesdahl said. “They’re destroying property. It’s really kind of a shame.”
The first theft, at Graybar, was most likely unsuccessful, according to Scott Hornsby, a delivery truck driver with the company. He said that he came to work one morning and found the fence cut. It appeared as if someone tried to siphon gas from his van, he said, but it didn’t look like they were successful. He didn’t file a report with the police, and whoever it was hasn’t been back.
The U.S. Geological Survey office hasn’t been so lucky. The field office has eight trucks and parks them right in front of the offices. In the last two weeks, four of the company’s trucks have been vandalized, according to an employee who asked to remain anonymous. The most recent incident happened on Aug. 21.
Instead of siphoning gas out of the tank, someone cut the fuel tank filler neck—an extended part of the gas tank that connects to the gas cap—and simply let the gas pour out.
The office has felt the cost of labor—and the impact of having half of the office’s trucks out of commission, the employee said. So far, the cost of repairs has reached a grand total of $1,170. It’s cost a little more than $200 to fix each vehicle.
The survey office has filed a police report, but not for each incident. Employees have taken to parking their trucks at the Santa Maria Airport instead, where security is tighter.
Lt. Dan Ast with the Santa Maria Police Department said that he hasn’t received reports of gas thefts elsewhere in the city. But, he added, if victims aren’t filing police reports, there’s no way that the department would be able to track the occurrences.
An employee at the local AAA office said that if gas theft were a problem nationwide, the national association would have sent out information on how to avoid it. The national AAA website makes no mention of gas theft as a problem.
Still, it is a problem for the U.S. Geological Survey and others in their neighborhood. If someone were caught siphoning gas, Ast said that the penalty would be a charge of misdemeanor petty theft, with a punishment of up to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both. If someone cut a fence or destroyed property to get to the gas, trespassing or vandalism would be added to the charges.
Ast recommended that employees take their vehicles home with them, buy locking gas caps, and park their vehicles under lights.
Contact Sports Editor Sarah E. Thien at sthien@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 4, 2008.