Thieves caught on camera siphoning gas at a Salinas business
By Jazmon DeJarnette
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — When the owner of J&M cleaning services walked back into work on Monday, he was alarmed.
“I got here and I saw all five vehicles of the company. The gas lids were open, so it was a little suspicious for me — that’s why were the lids open,” said Guillermo Ramirez, owner of J&M Cleaning Services.
Ramirez then did what any alarmed business owner would do: he checked the camera. What he saw was two individuals with a large knife and a bucket suctioning gas out of company vehicles.
“I saw that he had, like, a small little hose where he put it inside of a gas tank. He was doing suction with his mouth to get all the gas out,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez made a police report and alerted the community on the Next Door app.
“If you guys see somebody doing this, don’t approach him. Go ahead and call 911, because you never know what they have or what kind of weapons they might have,” Ramirez said.
The footage also showed the individuals suctioning gas from a company car from the neighboring business. The J&M owner said $300 worth of gas was stolen. A retired sheriff believes he knows why incidents like these are occurring.
“Because of the economy. Because what people are going through, certainly the new gas tax is not going to help us or other folks, at least those that are in the lower income group,” said Joe Lopez, a retired sheriff.
Lopez also told us what he’d advise us to do if we are face-to-face with a situation like this.
“Protect yourself. Think about yourself. Don’t be a hero. Especially when you’re going up against people with knives and guns. You know, better to be a good witness than a dead victim,” Lopez said.
Salinas PD did respond, saying that anyone who files a police report can be assured they are doing their best to catch the suspects and hold them accountable.
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