SAN DIEGO — The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in San Diego County was $6.23 Monday. Filling up is certainly expensive, and you can imagine how frustrating it is when someone steals your gas.
Over the past few weeks, we've seen multiple incidents of people trying to steal gas from cars. This comes as we've also seen near-record gas prices in San Diego.
"It's just very unexpected and it's unfair," said Jose Gomez.
He says a thief drilled into his truck's gas tank while it was parked overnight near his apartment complex in Cortez Hill over the weekend.
The police and fire department responded to clean up the mess. They left him a note explaining that they had to drill more holes to remove the leaking gas and that his truck was no longer operational. Gomez says he'll have to pay his insurance deductible to get his truck repaired.
"You rely on a vehicle to go grocery shopping for your family and take the kids out. Things like that are a bit disappointing," he said.
This isn't the first incident of gas theft. Last month, CBS 8 reported on a story of a man caught on camera siphoning gas from a vehicle in the Clairemont/Bay Ho area.
Days later, another surveillance video captured a man walking with a gas can and long tube in Clairemont. A woman there said gas was stolen from her RV.
"It's definitely one of those things you got to keep an eye on each other more than anything," Gomez said.
AAA says incidents of gas siphoning increased in California when gas prices hit record highs last year. There are signs to watch out for to know if someone has tried stealing gas from your vehicle. This includes the smell of gas near your car, a puddle near your fuel tank or the vehicle not starting.
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