SUV-Driving Gas Thief Busted: Santa Cruz Co. Deputies

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – A man was arrested after numerous reports of gasoline thefts were logged in recent months at several Santa Cruz County locations, including at Cabrillo College, and often, allegedly, including a black GMC Yukon captured on video-surveillance cameras, according to law enforcement.

In one incident on July 9, several gas tanks were siphoned, and one gas tank was drilled causing approximately $2,400 of damage, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office said today.

On July 27, at about 5:20 a.m., someone drilled a gas tank on a vehicle in the Emeline Complex on the 1000 block of Emeline Avenue, and a black Yukon-style vehicle was seen on nearby surveillance.

Shortly later at 7 a.m., gas was siphoned from a car parked at Cabrillo College in Aptos, with a black Yukon spotted, authorities said.

And at around 10 a.m., a sheriff’s sergeant spied a black Yukon being driven by the suspect, later identified as Michael Harrington, at 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive.

"The GMC Yukon smelled of gas and contained gas-siphoning equipment, a drill and several gas tanks inside the car," the agency said.

Harrington subsequently was arrested for suspicion of vehicle burglary.

The sheriff’s office and the Watsonville Police Department are working together to gather additional evidence possibly linking suspect Harrington to gas thefts and vandalism over recent weeks, and anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Office at (831) 471-1121.

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--Images via Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office