By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Bay News 9
Unidentified suspects parked a van over in-ground fuel tanks at a gas station near Westfield Citrus Park Mall early Tuesday morning and began pumping gas into the van. For some reason, they fled — leaving the van with several hundred gallons of stolen gas still inside.

TAMPA — Just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, Hillsborough County deputy Alexander Hockersmith saw a suspicious blue minivan parked at a weird angle in the gas station parking lot.

The business was closed.

The midnight shift deputy pulled a U-turn and pulled in to the 8606 Citrus Park Drive station. As he did this, another nearby vehicle quickly pulled away, leaving the van.

It didn't take long to sleuth out what was going on: Criminals had cut a hole through the Chevrolet Venture's floor board and were pumping gas from below-ground tanks into a ...