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Gas thieves taped in act, sentenced By Chris Bristol Twice in less than a week they cut the locks and stole gas � lots and lots of gas � from the underground storage tank at John�s Trail Market. The third time they tried it, John Cook was ready. "It just seemed so bizarre that someone would try it more than once," said Cook, owner of the market and gas station in Trail. "When they did it again, that�s when I decided to try to catch them." First he caught them on tape. Then he nabbed them in person. In a Jackson County courtroom Monday, John Boze Madden and Louis Michael Sheedy were convicted and sentenced to jail for the theft of almost 900 gallons of regular unleaded from the Trail Market. Madden, 37, pleaded guilty to first-degree theft and got 60 days in jail. Sheedy, 46, pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge (methamphetamine) and got 10 days. Madden, who once stole a backhoe from the U.S. Forest Service, also agreed to pay $930.50 restitution. Sheedy agreed to pay $500, although he complained that could be a problem because he has no job and no car. "Life�s tough," Judge Ray White replied. "I know, I know," Sheedy said. "I�ve got nobody but myself to blame." The case began after Cook discovered May 17 that someone had cut the padlocks off his underground tank, which stores 8,000 gallons of fuel. He got his gauge pole and confirmed that gas was missing � 283 gallons, to be specific. Five days later, May 22, it happened again. This time, 293 gallons were gone. "I�ve owned this place four years and it was a first for me," Cook said. "The guy before me owned it 22 years, and he said it never happened to him ever." After he and his son spent the next couple of nights at the store and nothing happened, Cook pointed the store�s video surveillance camera at the parking lot. The very next night, May 26, he caught the action. A big blue-and-white Ford pickup truck drove onto the lot, the driver looking right at the camera. It stopped by the lids to the underground tanks and two men could be seen cutting the locks, then using a pump and hose to siphon gas (299 gallons, the gauge showed later) into a big cylindrical tank in the bed of the older-model truck. "They were very efficient," Cook said. "They just stand there, pump away and take off." Having shown the tape to practically everybody who came into his store, Cook�s efforts again paid off two days later when a customer spotted the distinctive-looking truck in Shady Cove. He called 911 and began tailing the truck. Police responded and made the arrest. The tank, labeled "H2O only," was full of gas. A pint-sized milk carton belonging to Sheedy was full of meth, prosecutor Allan Smith said. Smith said Madden got more time than his cohort because he has a more extensive criminal record, including multiple convictions for drugs (meth), driving under the influence of intoxicants and driving with a suspended license. In 1998 he was twice convicted of first-degree theft � once for stealing tools and equipment from a mine near Gold Hill, and then for stealing a U.S. Forest Service backhoe in the Applegate area. "In this case, I guess he would sell 300 gallons in a few days," Smith said, "and then go back and fill up again." Cook was not in court Monday but was glad to hear of the convictions, even though he doubts he�ll ever see a dime in restitution. "Seeing that tape, seeing them steal from you like that, it makes you feel violated," he said. "Catching them, though, that was an awesome feeling." Reach reporter Chris Bristol at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.