Bub Olsen noticed a green tube sticking out from under his motor home earlier this month. The gas tank on the motor home parked outside his west Port Angeles house has a lock, and at first he thought it might have been a piece of the vehicle he never noticed before.
After further inspection, Olsen realized that someone had come in the night, bypassed the locked cap, tapped into the tube that runs into the tank, and stolen about 30 gallons of gas.
“He knew what he was doing,” Olsen said.
Olsen isn’t alone.
Since early May, there have been at least 65 reports of gas thefts in eastern Clallam County, according to a Peninsula Daily News tally of reports to PenCom 9-1-1 dispatchers.
Gas thefts have been on the rise since last summer, when Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf of Mexico and crimped supplies.
But since last spring, gas theft reports have almost become a daily occurrence, and include people driving away from gas stations without paying, siphonings, swiping gas cans and even a single report of a stolen gas card.
During the same period, there has been an infinitesimal number of prosecutions, according to county and city prosecutors.
Motor homes, like Olsen’s, have been frequent victims, but businesses that operate vehicle fleets, such as United Parcel Service, have reported thefts, as have wrecking yard, logging operations, Port Angeles city vehicles and even Fire District No. 3.
Clallam County Undersheriff Rich Sill said throughout his career he’s seen gas thefts spike when the price of gas spikes.
“Every time I’ve seen gas prices go up,” he said.
Theft of goods valued at under $250 is classified as third-degree theft.
Although gas has climbed to record highs and is currently hovering at more than $3 a gallon, most reported instances of gas theft would fall in that category, which is often associated with shop lifting.
In the unincorporated reaches of the county there has been one prosecution of attempted third-degree theft, said Clallam County Deputy Prosecutor Stormy Howell.
There is one third-degree theft case under prosecution in the City of Port Angeles, said an assistant to Senior Assistant City Attorney Dennis C. Dickson.
Sequim has had none since gas prices have jumped, said City Prosecutor Robert Strohmeyer.
“Before they can be prosecuted, they have to get caught,” Strohmeyer said.
Sill said that property crimes are more difficult to solve than crimes of violence, because there are often no witnesses.
Victims of siphonings often realize they have been hit long after the thieves have made their escape.
“Any time there’s a situation where a theft occurs and it is discovered at a later time it’s going to be more difficult,” Sill said.
He suggested that drivers get locking gas caps.