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  • February 18, 2025
Thieves steal 0 in quarters from the Phoenix gas station air pump

Thieves steal $400 in quarters from the Phoenix gas station air pump

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – We’ve heard the warnings about credit card skimmers at gas station pumps, but now Valley thieves are targeting air pump machines.

A gas station in Phoenix said it happened to them a few days ago and it was all caught on video. The crooks are seen taking extreme measures just to get that money.

“They were in and out in five minutes by the time they were gone,” said Mike Gilligan, the owner of the Shell gas station. at Seventh Street and Maryland Avenuenorth of Bethany Home Road..

He shared a video of two people pulling into the parking lot and trying to break into the air pump.

“There’s probably a 20-inch thick metal bar in here,” he said as he showed the machine. “It’s not easy, you know, just wobbling. They really had to drill through a lot of metal to get there.”

Gilligan said after watching the surveillance video, he realized the thieves had visited the gas station twice.

“I think the first time they came by was around 2 a.m., and by the time they got on the air machine it was about 7 a.m.,” he said.

Gilligan owns 14 locations in the Valley, but said this is the first time something like this has happened at one of his gas stations.

“Usually people will tamper with things, but the air machine has never been broken into or actually tampered with,” he said.

In this case, the crooks managed to get away with some money.

“There could be between $300 and $400 in it,” Gilligan said.

However, by filing a police report, Phoenix police said Gilligan is providing evidence to help the department build a case or even link the suspects to a string of thefts.

“That little bit of information you give us can fill a huge gap we have in an investigation where we can identify a person,” said Phoenix Police Sgt. Phil Krynsky.

The damage left behind will cost much more to repair than what the thieves got away with. The pump was about a year old and cost thousands of dollars.

Gilligan said it will take months before they find the parts they need and get someone in to fix it.

Until then, he believes the gas station will lose thousands of dollars in revenue.

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