https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/05/03/lvmpd-watch-gasoline-thieves-over-summer-months/
Imagine you’re home during the evening, maybe settling down, ready to eat dinner or ready to call it a night while your vehicle is parked in the driveway or carport nearby. You hear a noise coming from outside the front of the house or maybe near your apartment. You go outside to quickly investigate and you find one or two people under a vehicle or your vehicle attempting to steal gas. Most common verbal responses are that of individuals who might say they would do or say a specific thing without it actually having happened to them. Let’s go over some quick points of how you should defend yourself in this potential situation.
1. Remain calm – Most situations can be resolved as long as both parties don’t get too “hyped up”.
2. If possible; video record the encounter or at least attempt to gain a photo of the individual either when they’re not looking or prior to the engagement or when they start walking away.
3. Advise the person that you don’t want trouble; however you cannot allow them to continue.
4. Call Police AFTER the encounter or if the situation starts to escalate – a threat to call Police could escalate the situation into unneeded violence.
Remember; the point of most gas thieves is to obtain gas without being seen. If you also take preventative steps such as having a well lite driveway or carport as well as maybe security cameras that are visible; it can go a long way towards help minimizing a potential incident such as what is mentioned in the above cited news article. (courtesy of fox 5 news).