Discern Report
An Inland Empire resident is warning others after thieves targeted and drilled into her vehicle to steal gasoline. The incident occurred on Sept. 19 as Heather Velasco parked her truck outside Kindred Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga where she works. Later that day, she and a coworker were heading out to lunch when she approached her truck and noticed a strong gasoline odor.
Thinking it was emanating from a nearby diesel truck, they got into the car and began driving but immediately, Velasco knew something was wrong. Her truck was only three years old, so she was surprised anything would be malfunctioning.
I’m sure they used a cordless electric drill to make the hole.
It won’t be long until we see stories of these dumbasses catching themselves on fire. Even cordless drills create sparks at the motor and switch which can ignite gasoline vapors.
They’re targeting trucks because of easier access to the gas tank. This happened to two vehicles right across the street from a customer of mine — in an out-of-the-way neighborhood — in Seattle. Last month.
less than $950 – beep, beep!
…could be “homeless” or illegals — or both. They need gas to run the stolen generators that run the stolen gas burners that run their illegal meth labs.
A tankful of gas in Californistan is easier money than a catalytic converter.
I want to hear more stories about holes being drilled.
Into these thieves.
With a high-speed lead bit.
I’m certain this will stem the flow of people leaving CA… not!
The people of this s-hole state voted for the death penalty. Newscum abolished it on his own. They let 1000s of felons out of jail. Murderers get 90 days. I wonder why there’s so much crime.
Back in the late 1970’s during the Jimmy Carter created gas shortage, this was going on in every state. Sometimes your next door neighbor was the perp.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/watch-a-tech-drill-into-a-full-gas-tank-and-start-a-massive-fire
My dad wanted to pull a big dent out of a gas tank he’d removed from a car. He had to drill into it to bull the dent, and he was well aware of the danger of sparks from the drill, so he filled the tank completely full of water. Well, almost full anyway.
Just about when the drill bit went through (I was oiling the bit for him), there was a loud boom and a spray of water. And suddenly, that dent was gone. All that needed to be done was seal the drill hole. I don’t know if the heat from the bit popped out the dent, or an small vapor explosion did it, but it’s safer to assume it was the latter.
It doesn’t take much gas vapor to set off an explosion. These fools are quite literally playing with fire.
I always used a sharp oiled punch. Also I had a 69 Jeep and the gas tank had many, long lasting epoxy patches, from a variety of causes, that never failed me. Just make sure the area around the hole is clean. Also works on oil pans.
I don’t understand why the resident is warning others. What are we supposed to do, hire some kid off the street to stand and watch our car in the parking lot?
Gasoline in California is frequently $1 a gallon more expensive than anywhere else, so I’m guilty of doing this to augment my own gas bill. However, these “Tesla” vehicles people are yammering about are terrible for this – I get no gasoline and frequently out of control fires.
They like trucks and especially
vehicles with plastic tanks as they pose less risk, can be drilled much quicker and a lot quieter