It wasn’t a case of Welcome Back Cotter when deputies found a man underneath a truck in Dowelltown, trying of syphon out gas.
The suspected gas thief, Bradley Kent Cotter, 48, of Dowelltown is charged with theft and vandalism after he was caught in the act of his crime.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, deputies were sent to the Dowelltown Post Officer where witnesses said a man was underneath a truck. The truck was up for sale and had been parked there by the owner.
When officers arrived, Cotter was still under the truck. “He had cut a hole in the fuel filter,” Sheriff Ray pointed out, noting there was a garden hose running out of the fuel tank, leaving no doubt about what he was doing. “He was stealing gas.”
Cotter stands charged with not only stealing the gas but with damaging the truck while getting the gas.