LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is searching for information on unreported gasoline thefts after the discovery this week of a vehicle that appeared to be rigged specifically for such crimes, and which also contained tools commonly used for burglary.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said that this past Thursday at 1:45 a.m., Lakeport Police officers observed a suspicious white 1995 Chevrolet Cheyenne three-quarter ton shop/utility bed pickup truck with a black lumber rack parked in the area of Lakeshore Boulevard and Giselman Street.

He said the officers continued to patrol and conduct surveillance in the area throughout the morning in an effort to detect possible criminal activity, with an officer entering the truck at 5 a.m. after noticing an operating propane heater was burning a hole in the seat.

At that time, the officer noticed numerous items that he recognized to be commonly possessed by persons who commit burglary and gasoline theft, including flashlights, gloves, pry bar, utility knife, police band scanner, locking and nonlocking gasoline caps, and a suction hose and reel, according to Rasmussen.

Due to the suspected evidence of a crime in the vehicle, officers decided to tow and store the vehicle pending completion of an affidavit for search warrant. Rasmussen said the officers also believed the vehicle may be associated with recent burglaries.

During the towing inventory of the vehicle contents additional suspected burglary tools were observed, Rasmussen said, including bolt cutters and a gasoline siphon system.

Additional officers and detectives responded and a search warrant affidavit was completed and authorized by a superior court judge, he said.

At approximately 1:45 p.m. Thursday, Lakeport Police officers and detectives served the search warrant on the vehicle, documenting and seizing items of evidence including a lock pick, punch, bolt cutters, pry bar, metal cutting tools, vehicle gasoline caps, gloves and a fuel siphon system, Rasmussen said.

He said the fuel siphon system was an elaborate 12 volt pump set up, hard wired to the vehicle DC power, concealed in a utility compartment and plumed to the vehicle fuel tank with a long siphon hose.

The system also had a third connection believed to be set up to offload fuel from the tank or divert it to a separate fuel container. Rasmussen said it appeared that the siphon system was built for the sole purpose of stealing fuel from vehicles and that it had the capability of siphoning many gallons of fuel in a matter of minutes.

The investigation is ongoing and officers are seeking to determine if there are unreported gasoline thefts or other burglaries in the Lakeport area, he said.

Based on the numerous vehicle gasoline caps recovered, Rasmussen said there may be persons who had caps and fuel stolen but did not report it to law enforcement.

Additionally, he said police are aware that sometimes gasoline theft victims do not file crime reports with law enforcement.

The last known gasoline theft report filed with the Lakeport Police Department was on Jan. 1, where a victim had their vehicle fuel tank completely emptied of approximately 10 gallons of fuel, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen asked that anyone who may have information related to recent vehicle fuel cap and gasoline thefts or other recent burglaries, or people who saw the truck in the area where these the crimes may have been committed, contact police to assist them with this investigation.

The Lakeport Police Department can be reached at 707-263-5491.

Any pictures or identifying information – such as license plate numbers or suspect descriptions – also may be directly sent to Chief Rasmussen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .