KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Kansas City area police departments have reported recent incidents of gas theft.
Last week, security cameras on a street in Independence's captured the alleged fuel bandit carrying a container in their right hand as they walked over to John Blaser's Dodge Ram before crouching next to it.
"Drilled a half-inch hole right in the bottom of tank," Blaser said.
He added the thief only took about two gallons of gasoline, and let the rest of the 30-gallon tank drain onto the asphalt.
Blaser believes his truck's height made it a target.
"Sits up high. You ain't gotta go crawl underneath it. You can pretty much reach underneath and do what you got to do," Blaser said.
That could be why another Dodge pickup truck less than a mile away, owned by Darryl Campbell, was the target of gas theft overnight last week.
"He got most of the fuel," Campbell said.
He was hit with the smell of gasoline when he walked out the door.
"As soon as I started it up, the fuel light popped on, I looked under there man and I saw shavings," Campbell said.
Unlike Blaser, who patched up the hole himself, Campbell is going to spend more than $600 getting his fuel tank replaced.
"It's almost kind of like the catalytic converters, they don't get a whole lot of reward for the amount of damage that gets caused by doing this," Officer Jack Taylor with the Independence Police Department said.
Police say they have dealt with thieves siphoning gas in the past, but this method is a first for them.
"With the gas prices going up, I can see copycats doing something like this," Officer John Lacy with Overland Park Police Department said.
Overland Park police took a report two weeks ago of a crook drilling gas out of trucks at a U-Haul location on 78th Street and Metcalf Avenue.
"If you see anything suspicious, you see anyone under a vehicle, contact the police department as soon possible. Motion lights are one thing that we are asking the public. Turn on your porch lights, park in well-lit areas also," Lacy said.
Victims understand times are tough, but say no one should resort to crime.
"If you're that desperate knock on the door, man. I'll give you 20 bucks to get some fuel. You know? You're gonna save me a lot of money," Blaser said.
Police say if criminal aren't hurt during the process anyone caught drilling fuel tanks will likely face theft and property crime charges.
