Gas theft victim says someone drilled tank for a half tank of fuel

Someone drilled into a Seattle woman's gas tank to steal less than a half tank of fuel – but it cost her thousands of dollars in damage.

Seattle police say the tactic is a newer one, cropping up as newer cars came with more secure tanks.

“I was more floored than anything. Then I was just frustrated,” said Colleen Brown, who lives in Fremont.

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Brown said at first she thought it was a battery problem, so she called AAA.

“It started to catch, and then it just stopped,” Brown said. “The guy showed up and said ma’am, you're out of gas. And I said no I'm not. And he goes under the car and takes the picture under the car, and shows somebody has gone through the tank,” she said.

The photo picture shows someone drilled more than ten holes through the plastic

and metal layers of the tank.

“They drained it completely,” Brown said. “My first thought was, all these RVs that are all around, they all have a gas tank. And we're not that far from the Ballard Fred Meyer where there's a million of the RVs, so my guess is that's where it went,” Brown said.

“It’s like $2,000 for a new tank,” she said.

Over the weekend, Caffe Appassionato in Interbay also had a gas theft incident.

“We had gas siphoned out of one of our trucks, so they emptied that,” said Phil Sancken, owner of Caffe Appassionato. “They also let the air out of one of the tires, so not sure that was about,” he said.

“The problems continue on a daily basis,” he said.

It's not just stealing gas. KIRO 7's Deedee Sun talked with the Caffe Appassionato in October after someone tried to steal the shop's delivery van by drilling or cutting through locks on the door, then tried to pry out the ignition.

“I think we’re just going to have to donate that or tow it off the premises. Its' just too expensive to repair it,” Sancken said.

Back in Fremont, Brown said they've installed cameras since someone drilled her tank.

She says the cameras catch suspicious activity all the time.

“It's almost every night. There's someone coming through, just pulling on the doors trying to get in to a car,” Brown said.

“It’s not getting better and we need to take action before something really horrible happens, and that’s my big fear,” she said.

In November, someone stealing gas from a Renton U-Haul by drilling into the tanks started a fire that caused about $100,000 in damage.

Cox Media Group