LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department is asking community members to be on the lookout for subjects believed responsible for another series of gas thefts in the city this week.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said eight vehicles were targeted for gas theft on Sunday and Monday nights.
Rasmussen said six vehicles were targeted in the Del Lago area, one on 15th Street and one in the 1800 block of S. Main Street. The responsible subjects were able to obtain fuel from some vehicles but not from others.
In addition, Rasmussen said a stereo was taken from one of the vehicles in the Del Lago area.
On Monday evening a witness reported seeing a white male subject fleeing the scene of the gasoline theft in the 1800 block of S. Main Street in a small white mini pickup – possibly a Mazda or older Chevrolet S-10 – that may have damage to the passenger rear fender and bumper, according to Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said that on Tuesday evening his officers interviewed another witness who saw the white mini pickup fleeing the scene of the gasoline theft in the 1800 block of S. Main Street.
The witness described the pickup as being a Ford Ranger and the driver as being a white male adult, 19 to 23 years old, with a thin build and short hair, and wearing a flat bill cap.
Although police aren't certain of the pickup's make and model, they believe it may have damage to the passenger rear fender and bumper, Rasmussen.
Rasmussen said police don't believe the gas thefts this week are related to a series of gas thefts that occurred in the middle of January.
The January cases involved a white 1995 Chevrolet Cheyenne three-quarter ton shop/utility bed pickup with a fuel siphoning system which was seized by Lakeport Police officers after they secured a search warrant, Rasmussen said.
The Lakeport Police Department had put out a call to the community for leads in the January gas thefts.
The community responded, and Rasmussen told Lake County News that his department received a lot of help in the form of leads and pictures of the suspect vehicle.
Rasmussen said 51-year-old Lake County resident Doug Trimmer has been identified as the suspect in the January gas thefts.
Trimmer has a lengthy criminal record that includes prior arrests for narcotic and controlled substance violations, receiving stolen property, burglary and possession of burglary tools, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said Trimmer hasn't been arrested, however, the Lakeport Police Department has sent a case against Trimmer to the Lake County District Attorney's Office for review.
Rasmussen, who updated the Lakeport City Council on the situation Tuesday evening, said gas thefts in the city have been a “serious problem ongoing for some time.”
Anyone with information on the recent thefts is asked to contact the Lakeport Police Department at 707-263-5491.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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