Any idea what his occupation might have been?

I would have done what you did, OP.

He was an arrogant cur & you sir, handled this correctly. Its his vehicle, money & responsibility. Unfortunately not everyone is smart enough to not shoot the messenger. Hopefully he was smart enough to go into the counter and report it post haste.

You did fine.

These are the same idiots that have the fuel overflowing all over the station at times. Guess he can't read. At best he's out twenty or so. He's going to get that upset over his own stupidity?

He's almost as stupid as the idiots who fuel up , then leave the car in front of the pump while the walk away for twenty minutes.

All that should have been done was so leave it at that.

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Hell, those Escalades hold a lot of gas, the driver likely never would have even noticed.

Yep. I doubt he would have even noticed. If he was sensible, he'd take it as a lesson for next time.... which you would have graciously provided him.

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I would get gas elsewhere.

That I don't understand. It's not the responsibility of the operator of that gas station... and it could happen at any gas station.

You did the right thing. There is no sense in putting your life or safety at risk over 20 dollars in gas. You gave the guy what he needed to have them arrested, which is more that many people would do.

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You gave the guy what he needed to have them arrested

He could have taken the information and filed a complain. At most they would receive a summons to appear. the effort was significantly more than twenty in fuel.

Escalade owner handled it wrong. He should have been thankful and took the info to the cops.

Kids, obviously, should not have been ripping off gas.

You did what I'd have done. Get the info and not get involved over a few gallons of gas.

Regarding the practice of unattended pumping. I do this all the time, and many around here do...for which I'm thankful. Few things piss me off more than some idiot who stands there, fills up, returns the nozzle, and then proceeds to walk into the store to shop, leaving his vehicle blocking the pumps. Do one while you're doing the other so you don't hold people up at the pump.

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Few things piss me off more than some idiot who stands there, fills up, returns the nozzle, and then proceeds to walk into the store to shop, leaving his vehicle blocking the pumps. Do one while you're doing the other so you don't hold people up at the pump.

... or, if they are busy, move your car to a space away from the pumps when you go inside.

I would have shot the nozzle out of the thugs hand, subdued all involved, and made a citizen's arrest. When the cops arrived, I would hold my gun up and yell, "Over here! I got them!"

Really, what was this guy expecting of you?

H&K-Guy

He will probably show up in the emergency room with something shoved up his ass, at which time you can properly introduce yourself.
.

Would have kept perp information to myself and drove off with a smile.

LDD has the correct answer:

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I have no legal duty to intervene on your behalf.

However, I have information that will assist in criminal prosecution and recovery of damages. Take it or leave it.

Of course, H&K-Guy's would be more fun!

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I would have shot the nozzle out of the thugs hand, subdued all involved, and made a citizen's arrest. When the cops arrived, I would hold my gun up and yell, "Over here! I got them!"

IMO, the OP did the right thing.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:
Regarding the practice of unattended pumping. I do this all the time, and many around here do...for which I'm thankful. Few things piss me off more than some idiot who stands there, fills up, returns the nozzle, and then proceeds to walk into the store to shop, leaving his vehicle blocking the pumps. Do one while you're doing the other so you don't hold people up at the pump.

You're taking an unecessary risk. As steelcityfishanddive mentioned, there is a failure rate associated with the auto shutoff (could be either your vehicle or pump causing it) and that is the reason so many gas stations have removed the lock plate from the pump handle so you can't pump unattended. Here are the risks:

Overflow and you're financially responsible for both the gas and the clean-up. Try and fight it and you'll be on the hook for both your attorney fees and station's attorney fees when you lose. They'll have the video of you leaving vehicle unattended, photos of the warning stickers, and if necessary industry experts that can show how your vehicle caused the auto shutoff to fail (instead of the pump causing it to fail).

Overflow and ignition (e.g. vehicle driving through puddle and starting fire) resulting in a pool fire. This time, you're likely to receive fines from state regulators as well as be sued by gas station's insurance company for damages. Your insurance company is likely to hang you out to dry since your act is negligent. Once again, when you lose you'll be on the hook for your attorney and station's attorney fees.

Here is what I recommend and do - stand next to vehicle while pumping your gas and drive over to a parking spot to use the c-store. That way you're not inconveniencing someone by blocking a pump and you aren't taking unnecessary risks.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

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Originally posted by heatinajeep:
Would have kept perp information to myself and drove off with a smile.

I have to agree. While being berated, I might have looked the Escalade guy up and down, smiled sweetly and disingenuously, and said " well then, you continue having a nice day then.

The guy was an idiot and invited the theft. Like Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann said "If it wasn't for dickheads like you, we wouldn't have any thievery in this world, would we?"

I likely would have videoed the kids stealing gas and sent it to police after calling the non emergency number to tell them what I saw anyway.

OP, you did fine.

Only thing I might have done differently is that, since I almost always have my cell phone in my pocket, is that I might have taken a photo of the kids while they were stealing the gas.

I bet the douche regrets his response to you, now that he's had some time to think about it. Maybe it was a growing experience for him?

At any rate, it's a damned shame that the kids are apparently going to get away with that blatant theft. The little bastards deserve a beat-down!

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
.... Your insurance company is likely to hang you out to dry since your act is negligent. Once again, when you lose you'll be on the hook for your attorney and station's attorney fees.

Here is what I recommend and do - stand next to vehicle while pumping your gas and drive over to a parking spot to use the c-store. That way you're not inconveniencing someone by blocking a pump and you aren't taking unnecessary risks.

Insurance only covers damages resulting from negligent acts, not intentional conduct.

If you collide with a car intentionally, no coverage. Carelessly, negligently, without due care, you are covered.

You tried. Jerks everywhere so walking away and getting on with your day was the right move.

For the last 5 years or so, I have put gas into my work truck at least once a day, sometimes twice. In all of these times I have never experienced, nor witnessed a gas spill due to a pump not shutting off.

I have also never witnessed a fire due to somebody speaking on the mobile phone, failing to shut off their vehicle prior to fueling, or any other danger we are often warned against.

I'm sure most of this is simply to cover the ass of the station should something happen, but I don't believe these occurrences are anywhere near the risk level we are led to believe.

I have also never witnessed somebody stealing gas from an unattended fueling. Suppose there's a first for everything.

You did what you could have reasonably done, and probably more than most others would have.