ENCINITAS — Mark Lawson may not remember the exact date thieves first stole gas from rental trucks at his Encinitas business, but he hasn’t forgotten the price of gas at the time — $3.85.
Since gas hit that price in North County in April, Lawson said he has had 18 to 33 gallons of gas stolen once a week to every 10 days by thieves who are cutting the fuel lines on his moving trucks.
“Budget keeps the trucks full as a convenience for the customer, therefore there’s hundreds of gallons of gas just sitting there for the picking,” Lawson, the owner of Pacific Postal Center in Encinitas which rents Budget trucks, said.
As gas prices continue to climb, throughout North County several other rental companies in Encinitas and Carlsbad said thieves have targeted their larger vehicles and U-Haul-style moving trucks by siphoning gas or cutting fuel lines.
At Budget Car and Truck Rental of Encinitas, gas thefts have increased 100 percent over the last two months, Debra Flores, administrative manager, said.
Thieves have stolen approximately $800 to $900 worth of gas from their moving trucks, which are fenced in at night, she said.
Up the road in Leucadia, Manager Joe Gomez of A Plus Truck and Car Rental said thieves have stolen more than $1,000 in gas from his moving trucks since gas prices have increased over the last couple of months.
Because the moving trucks have larger gas tanks, Lawson and the other victims have said they’ve taken proactive steps to protect their fuel.
“With the amount of gas we’ve got out there, it really does almost pay to pay the extra money (for security),” Lawson said. “We’re paying more for the fuel and now we have to pay security to protect the fuel.”
Manager Scott Tjosvold of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car on Auto Center Court in Carlsbad, said to counter the recent rash of fuel thefts at his branch — three incidents over the last weeks — they are no longer filling tanks on the SUVs and vans.
Both the Sheriff’s Department Encinitas substation and the Carlsbad Police Department said they haven’t seen a significant increase in gas thefts in their respective cities. This could be attributed to the fact that business owners like Lawson aren’t filing an official report out of concern for an increase to their insurance premiums, as well as the belief from the victims that making a report would do little to curb the problem.
“What can they do? They don’t have time to roll through here,” Lawson said.
“We’ve reported it, but (the police) really can’t do anything unless they catch the thieves,” Flores said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. William Dreyer said without suspect information, like physical descriptions or a license plate number, it’s difficult to catch the gas thieves; however, he said it is still beneficial to inform law enforcement about the thefts so officers can be aware of what’s happening in the community and can be on the look out for suspicious activity.