Police seek gas thief who rigged pumps

Richmond County police are seeking a man who took the problem of rising gas prices into his own hands.

In the past week, police say, a man pumped more than $3,000 in premium gasoline into his vehicle and that of others by rigging a gas pump with a screwdriver. According to Richmond County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Cunningham, the person would enter the store, give the clerk $5 and then fill up.

On Tuesday, a manager at the Circle K/Shell at 2058 Central Ave. told police that she had grown suspicious of steadily dwindling amounts of gasoline in the store's holding tanks.

Deputy Cunningham said it appears the gas station was duped out of more than 700 gallons of gas. The premium gas rate at Circle K/Shell was $4.19 per gallon Tuesday.

Police said the man they are seeking is driving a black, late-model Ford Excursion with chrome trim and a Florida license tag. Deputy Cunningham said the screwdriver would cause "the pump to bypass the counting gears that were being dispensed."

A store manager told police the amount of gas taken was 166 gallons on Thursday, 174 gallons on Friday, 128 gallons on Saturday, 72 gallons on Sunday and 189 gallons on Monday.

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