ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Englewood police are investigating two recent cases of thieves drilling holes into gas tanks to steal fuel from cars.
The incidents happened overnight in the area of S. Galapago Street and W. Cornell Avenue, according to police.
Hear from a neighbor and a mechanic about this issue in our report below.
Neighbor Dale Peters said something similar happened to his wife's car. Peters is now out $2,000 for repairs.
"I get it's the price of gas, but it's still criminal, 100%," Peters said.
When asked what message he would send to the thieves, Peters had a simple response.
"Who does that? You know? I don't know," he said.
At Hochkiss Auto Repair, senior manager Cody Leach said they often see this happening to trucks and SUVs because of their bigger gas tanks.
"A lot of times they're in the back, where the spare tire is over here," Leach pointed out.
Leach said thieves often can't collect all the fuel they drain, but they'll get away with what they can.
He added while some cars have metal skid plates protecting the tank, others just have the plastic tank.
"They'll just come in right from the side of the car, drill a hole, put a pan or something underneath it," Leach said.
Police say there is not much drivers can do other than park in a garage. Neighbors, however, are hopeful the thieves will be caught.
"There's cameras everywhere, so hopefully they catch them," said neighbor Thomas Painter.
Meanwhile, Peters said he has taken his own precautions.
"I got cameras everywhere, so does that help? I hope, you know, (it will) deter them away," Peters said.
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