Ledger-Dispatch

By Raheem Hosseini (editor@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Surveillance cameras recorded two men = believed=20 responsible for siphoning gas from snow removal vehicles owned by = an=20 Amador Pines homeowner's association.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch

One of the suspects in a spate of gas = thefts=20 spotted the surveillance camera homeowners set up after being hit = repeated=20 times.

Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger=20 Dispatch
It tends to happen every = time gas prices=20 spike upwards, explained Sgt. Bryan Middleton of the Amador County = Sheriff's=20 Office.

Local law enforcement will receive complaints about = industrious=20 thieves siphoning the pricey fuel from unsuspecting victims and their=20 unprotected vehicles. They target unlocked gas tanks at work sites, = homeowners'=20 associations, even local fire departments.

Several such thefts = have=20 recently been reported in Amador Pines and the surrounding area, with = one=20 Upcountry property owner catching a couple of potential suspects on = surveillance=20 cameras his homeowner's association installed after being hit repeatedly = in=20 December.

"They kept coming to the same location more than once, = which is=20 why the landowner put up the camera," Middleton said. Since being = recorded that=20 night in December, the property owner hasn't reported any additional = attempts.=20 But the recorded subjects remain at large and are suspects in similar = crimes=20 throughout the county.

By withholding some details, like the name = of the=20 property owner and his exact location, investigators are hoping to fuel = the=20 public's interest in reporting suspicious circumstances.

Most of = the=20 thefts have targeted snow plows and road equipment, including those = belonging to=20 the California Department of Transportation.

The property owner = told the=20 Ledger Dispatch he counted about four burglaries spaced out several = months=20 apart. About three months before the last burglary occurred, his = homeowner's=20 association chipped in to set up a multi-camera surveillance system to = watch=20 over the 30-foot by 60-foot shop that houses the association's snow = removal=20 equipment. His neighbors wanted to put up signs advertising the = surveillance=20 system as a deterrent, but the property owner disagreed, hoping to catch = the=20 suspect in the act.

"I wanted to catch the bastards," he = said.

He=20 got his wish. And since the Dec. 14 incident, the association's snow = removal=20 plows have been left alone.

With these types of crimes, Middleton = said=20 that once suspects find a method and a location "that is successful, = (they) keep=20 going back until something happens that makes it less easy," like a = visible=20 surveillance camera or tough lock. But just because they've moved on = doesn't=20 necessarily mean they've stopped.

The relentless surge in the = cost of=20 crude oil has pushed gasoline prices to an all time high in California.=20 According to a recent report from AAA of Northern California, the = statewide=20 average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline is now a record high = $3.58, a=20 46-cent increase since the last AAA gas price report on Feb.=20 12.

"Diesel's four bucks a gallon," Middleton said, "so I'm sure = we'll be=20 getting more of these." He advised those without locking gas gaps to buy = one.

Anonymous tips can be made at 223-4900 or call the sheriff's = office=20 at 223-6500.

Raheem = Hosseini