Insane way thief is busted stealing 500 gallons of diesel — as gas crisis spirals into crime

A man alleged to have stolen 500 gallons of diesel and caused $10,000 in damages at a Lodi gas station has been locked up after police caught up with the gas guzzler.

Antonio Chirno of Las Vegas is accused of pumping the black gold into tanks hidden in his truck after busting open the pump with a crow bar, according to ABC 10.

“Once they opened up the door panel, they got in and had access to all the electrical,” Michael Kludt of Kludt Oil and Propane told the network.

He went on to say it probably took about five minutes to split the wires and take the gas.

The accused criminal’s plan was disrupted when a customer noticed something suspicious. “He goes, ‘I’ve been here a while, and this guy has been here quite before I was here,’ so it just didn’t add up to him,” Kludt said, according to police.

Cops impounded the truck and recovered the stolen fuel, but the damage was costly. “We’re looking at right now, probably about $10,000,” Kludt said. Chirno was charged with grand theft.

Gas prices in California have skyrocketed in the past three weeks, a gallon of premium is averaging $6.17, while diesel is soaring to $7 a gallon according to AAA. Just a month ago it was $5.01 for a gallon of diesel.

The situation in California is made worse by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s green agenda, which risks sending the price of gallon above $8 per gallon, lawmakers and experts have warned.

Drivers in the Golden State pay a “California premium” that includes higher-than-average state excise and sales taxes, as well hefty fees for climate programs unique to the state.

The Golden State also requires a special and more costly fuel blend designed to prevent smog, which only the state’s refineries and specific Asian countries can produce.

Californians are feeling the pain at the pump. Jill Gottlieb finished filling up her car at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles, the final tally on the gas pump read $107.

“This is crazy,” the social worker for the LA County Department of Health told The Post of the staggering amount she paid to top off her 2017 Mercedes. “I’ve never filled up my tank for this much before.”

Kludt noted to ABC 10 that the same gas station was targeted last year, when thieves stole more than 6,500 gallons of diesel fuel and that he’s now investing in security for the station.

“When fuel prices are high, it’s always going to drive theft up so if it’s not me it’s going to be other businesses,” he said.

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