|
Drive-offs fuel frustration
Published August 27, 2005
Executive Vice President and Director of the Petroleum and Convenience Marketers of Alabama, Arleen Alexander, commenting on the growing problem of gas drive-offs across the country and the state, said, “My marketers and retailers are telling me they are seeing more drive-offs, which is typical with the increase in gas prices.”
Alexander said her phone conversations with marketers and retailers across the state have led to the conclusion no specific area of the state is experiencing a greater increase in gas drive-offs than any other, and she repeated that the problem is directly related to the increase in gas prices. “It bothers me. This is theft, outright theft!” Alexander said.
She added, “There is a law in Alabama that says if you drive off without paying you can be found guilty … and have your license suspended for a year.”
“A lot of people,” Alexander said, “think when they are doing this they are hurting the oil companies, like the Exxons and the Texacos, but they are not. They are hurting the small business man who is making just pennies a gallon right now.”
“For example,” Alexander said, “I don’t believe people realize who they are affecting. If a retailer is making a nickel per gallon and someone drives off with $52 worth of gas, the business person has to sell a 1,000 gallons of gas to make up the money they just lost.”
Alexander expressed her sadness and concern for the retailer in Fort Payne, Hussain Caddi, an Alabama Texaco service station owner, who tried to stop a thief from driving off without paying and lost his life in the process.
“That was,” she said, “a very unfortunate incident.”
Fort Payne Police Chief David Walker announced Thursday that “at approximately 8:00 AM, Thursday, Aug. 25 Alvin Dwight Benefield, age 42, of Ider, Al. came to the Police Department and turned himself in as the driver of the vehicle we were looking for that left the Texaco station without paying for gasoline and that caused the death of Hussain Caddi, the owner of the station, on Aug. 19. Investigators took Benefield into custody and obtained a statement. His vehicle is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, gold in color and we have the vehicle. Benefield has been charged with Manslaughter and Theft of Property 3rd Degree. He is currently in the Fort Payne City Jail but will be transferred to the DeKalb County Jail. No bond has been set at this time. We are very pleased to be able to close this case. Our investigators had put many hours into the investigation and there would have bee many more hours to come. We do appreciate the assistance from the media in requesting the help from anyone that may have seen the incident and we are very appreciative of all the calls we received from the public concerning this case.”
Alexander, speaking to retailers and marketers strongly urged them “to emphasize to their employees if this situation occurs, not to take matters into their own hands.”
Rather Alexander added, “They should encourage their employees to get as much information as they can about the vehicle and the driver and call the police.”
Nationwide, gas thefts cost convenience stores an estimated $237 million -- or about $2,141 a store --in 2004, the National Association of Convenience Stores reports.
Alabama has 3,650 convenience stores.
A peripheral issue coming out of the present situation according to Huntsville Police Sgt. Jack Pugh in a recent Huntsville Times interview is a surge of credit card theft “…they’re breaking into vehicles and getting credit cards to use to get gas.”
Albertville Deputy Police Chief Doug Pollard said, “There has been a slight increase in the number of gas drive offs, but nothing major.”
Boaz Deputy Police Chief Todd Adams said, “We have had numerous drive offs from different convenient stores.”
Adams added, “It seems like Cowboys is getting hit more frequently than the rest of them are.”
While Adams said, “It is kind of hard to combat right now, we are having a brainstorming session to come up with a plan to combat the problem.”
The manager of Cowboys on U.S. Highway 431 in Boaz Sherlana Waldrop pointedly said Friday, “If someone comes in here and intentionally steals my gas, I hope their car breaks down on the road.”
Waldrop added, “I have to pay for my gas just like everybody else does.”
While she was unable to specify the amount of her stores financial at this time, she did say it was “substantial.”
Waldrop did say there have been at least “20 drive-offs this week…We are calling the police a lot more often.”
“The police are catching some of the thieves Waldrop said, “but there’s that one person who is a little clever than the other.”
Waldrop said, “We are taking steps to make things better.”
Those steps Waldrop said won’t include “putting up signs saying you have to pre-pay, because that’s not fair to the true customers.”
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print |
Letter
|
|
|
 |
|
Follow the Reporter on Twitter:
SMR News and
SMR Sports
|
