Thieves drill through gas tanks in damaging gas thefts

Police in Federal Way are searching for thieves who caused at least $750 dollars’ worth of damage for $50 dollars’ worth of gas.

It wasn’t a typical siphoning.

Thieves drilled holes through the shields protecting gas tanks, and then the actual tanks, and stole — and also spilled — large amounts of fuel.

John Moreau and his girlfriend assumed the strong odor outside their apartment Sunday morning was a gas leak — but not that kind of leak.

“Yeah, I’m mad, Tammy’s mad, but you know you can’t really do anything, what are you going to do?” Moreau said.

South King County Fire had to clean up what thieves left behind under both Moreau’s truck and his neighbor’s.

“Figured they came off the freeway. It’s easy access points from I-5, 99, (and there’s) no security to cover the place,” Moreau said.

Moreau is frustrated that he’s out $750 thanks to what was likely less than a $50 theft.

Moreau said the fire department told him Toyota Tacoma trucks are often the target of that kind of theft because they are high enough off the ground.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Thieves drill through gas tanks in damaging gas thefts."