Fuel filcher lifts Lincoln

HAYDEN - Law enforcement officers discovered that a driver who fueled up Saturday and then dashed from a Hayden gas station stole much more than gas.

He also stole the car.

According to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Office incident report, the gas theft was reported at 9 p.m. by an employee of the Hayden Holiday gas station. The employee told deputies that the white male, who was driving a maroon "Lincoln-type" vehicle, selected the "Pay Inside" button at the pump prior to putting roughly 15 gallons of gas in the car.

The man then drove away without paying for the gas.

Deputies performed a search on the license plate number given to them by the employee. They were able to locate the owner of the vehicle, who told them "no one should be driving his vehicle because it was parked at his place of employment."

After being informed of the gas theft, the owner told deputies that he was in Rathdrum and the vehicle must have been stolen.

A deputy located the car in the parking lot of Hayden Center Partners and noticed it still had frost covering it. The deputy also noticed that the vehicle's front license plate was missing.

The owner told law enforcement that prior to being stolen, the vehicle had both of its license plates attached.

He was then informed that the plates would be listed as stolen and he would need to have new ones issued.