Alert Officer Captures Alleged Gas Thief In Downtown Redding

An alleged thief’s unique look was his undoing, according to Redding Police. For about a year someone has been vandalizing and stealing fuel from vehicles at a Shasta County Maintenance Division lot on Placer Street. Over the weekend surveillance video recorded a man matching the description from previous incidents as he drilled holes in the gas tanks of several county vehicles to steal the gas. He only got a few gallons but the cost of repairs is estimated at over $1300. The man was wearing a skull mask, a distinctive hat and was pulling an unusual-looking trailer behind his bicycle. While on patrol Halloween morning, the Redding Police Officer assigned to the case glanced inside an open garage at a house on West Street and something caught his eye. It looked like the same bike and trailer from the surveillance footage. Conveniently, the resident was in the front yard. Even more conveniently, 26-year-old Christopher Ray had two outstanding warrants. In the bike trailer the officer reportedly found the mask, hat, electric drill, gloves, flashlight and siphoning hoses used in the crimes. Ray was booked into jail.

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