PHOENIX — State lawmakers are moving to put a kibosh on one electronic method of stealing increasingly expensive gasoline.
Legislation awaiting House action would make it a Class 3 felony to use what’s known as a “pulsar manipulation device” to trick gas pumps into thinking that just a little bit of fuel is being dispensed when hundreds of gallons could actually be going through the nozzle. That would carry a presumed penalty of 3.5 years in state prison.
But not everyone is convinced that Senate Bill 1177 sponsored by Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale is needed, given that theft of gasoline itself already is a crime.
