Ormond Beach, FL - Police in at least two Volusia cities are looking for whoever is using a drill to steal gasoline from the tanks of parked vehicles.
At least nine incident reports have been filed with the Ormond Beach Police Department since April, with most of them coming since June 1st.
OBPD used its Facebook page to post a photo of the red truck detectives think is being used in connection to these crimes.
Another vehicle might be involved as well, though it's not clear at this point if more than one person is doing these thefts, according to OBPD Officer Keith Walker.
"He seems to be targeting work trucks," Walker added while also noting that all but one of the incidents happened at night.
Detectives think the suspect is crawling under the vehicles, using the drill to puncture the gas tanks and then leaving the scene once the tank is empty.
One of the victimized vehicles was a City of Ormond Beach truck which stalled out on the road for lack of gas after leaving the Senior Center on 351 Melrose Ave, according to one of the incident reports.
At least four of the incidents happened at businesses on Parque Drive, while two others happened along West Granada Boulevard, including one at Florida Hospital. The others were in residential neighborhoods, including an apartment complex on Tomoka Oaks Boulevard and the Bermuda Estates area.
A similar report was also filed with the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety on June 13th from the parking lot of Castaways on State Road A1A.
Damage totals are roughly between $500 to $1,500 per vehicle, according to the incident reports.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Shores Police Detective Megan Wilmot (386-763-5335; mwilmot@cityofdbs.org) or Ormond Police Corporal Mike Garner (386-677-0731; michael.garner@ormondbeach.org).
