Gas station employee chases down gas thief

Whit Johnson reporting By now it may sound like a broken record, but once again, gas prices are on the rise. Earlier this week, gasoline prices hit a record high nationwide. Today they climbed again to about $3.60 a gallon.

While Utah's prices are still below the national average they too are high, leading some to desperate measures. Police arrested a man yesterday for stealing fuel from a Salt Lake gas station, but it wasn't your usual drive-off.

An employee at the Phillips 66 attempted to resolve the situation himself. He actually took off after the suspect. In the end nobody was hurt, but it shows some people are willing to do anything to fill up.

Sure you can shop around, but whether you're paying $3.35 or $3.49 for a gallon of gas, for most people it's still just too much.

Ernest Pierce said, "I don't think we'll ever see the days again where it's like 83 cents, 86 cents or something like that."

Tony Huegel says, "The commuting 106 miles a day as I do at $3.61 a gallon, that really hurts. That's like taking a cut in pay."

And while the high gas prices may force some to consider driving less, one man actually broke the law.

At the Phillips 66 near 2300 East and 2100 South in Salt Lake City yesterday, a man filled up his car along with several gas cans and then took off without paying. That's when a gas station employee went after the man.

Lt. Cal Kunz, with the Salt Lake City Police Department, said, "The employee moved his car in front of the suspect, and he went around the car. They scraped the vehicles against each other. The suspect fled, went over a center strip of the road."

There was severe damage to the suspect's car, but he was still able to drive several blocks until he eventually came to a stop at the corner of Garfield and Connor Street.

"The employee followed that mark, where he found the suspect with his vehicle disabled because of a flat tire," Lt. Kunz said.

The gas station employee then called 911, and police arrested the suspect where his car broke down.

Jennifer Davis took photographs of the scene from her window. She says, "I can't blame the owner either you know. If someone takes something from you and you watch it happen, it's hard to just sit back and do nothing."

The gas station was closed today so we were not able to reach the owner for comment, but police say they don't recommend people confront someone who just stole something from you.

E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com

Related topics