This week, people across California are dealing with record-breaking prices for gasoline. People are being forced to be creative in attempts to save money and afford getting to work. In some cases, this creativity does not always line up with the law. There have been cases reported from Antelope Valley to Roseville of thieves stealing hundreds of gallons of gasoline. In Antelope Valley, police are still looking for individuals who were targeting car rental agencies.
In Roseville, CA nearly 1,000 gallons of gasoline has been stolen from a Shell has station. The thieves arrived at the gas station at 1:30 a.m. when the adjoining convenience store was closed. They were somehow able to turn off the gas meter so that they could fill up a tank in the back of the pick-up truck. A security camera was able to catch them in the act, but the station had to look at the records to see exactly how much was stolen. The same thieves came back during the day on two separate occasions, but the people were able to take the gas without the meter showing gas was being pumped.
Although there are talks of reducing the price of gas by 20 cents a gallon, there will probably be more reports of gas theft in the coming days. When any item is stolen which is more than $950 in value, the accused individual could be charged with grand theft. According to the California Penal Code §489 (2011), the individual could be put in jail for up to one year if they are found guilty. For more information on theft crimes, please do not hesitate to contact our team atMartinian & Associates Inc. Call our office today if you need an attorney on your side.
