ST. MATTHEWS, Ky. (WDRB) -- A collision center in St. Matthews said they are facing a problem they have never seen before: Gas being stolen from fuel tanks parked on the lot.

Jump starting cars and driving them behind locked gates is what the crew at Joe Hudson's Collision Center is now forced to do after falling victim to a crime they've never seen.

"People come on to the lot at night and drill a hole in the fuel tank, drain fuel into a pan and then take it away," said Douglas Addington, general manager at the collision center's St. Matthews location.

Addington can't figure out why exactly it's happening, but believes it might have to do with the rising costs of many necessities, from groceries to gas.

"Whenever the economy is a little, you know, tense or whatever, you'll see kind of things happen that normally don't happen, especially in the St. Matthews area," he said.

Addington said it has also happened at the collision center's east Louisville location. He doesn't think they're the only ones dealing with this problem.

"It's just kind of new and not widespread yet, or not common knowledge, yet," he said.

Addington said the collision center has notified both St. Matthews Police and Louisville Metro Police about the problem.

LMPD said an Eighth Division Detective has been assigned to the case and it is an open and active investigation.

What shocks Addington the most is the time thieves take to steal the gas.

"In order to get any kind of measurable amount, four or five gallons, it would have to take 10, 15 or 20 minutes to get only four or five gallons of gas," he said.

The general manager is also surprised at the lengths some thieves have gone.

"At our other location, they've cut the chains off the gate twice," he said.

But, he said, the crews are doing everything possible to deter thieves from stealing gas. From parking the cars inside the building, to getting cameras set up as soon as possible.

"We're spending an extra 30 or 40 minutes every afternoon to pull in every car we can physically fit in the building," Addington said.

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